~s~~n^iT 


a  S>tubj>  of  Cook  Count? 


1914 


A  dtuhg  nf  (^ook  dnirntg 


1914 


C  77s 

LOP  7  ^*<»«if»r 


This  study  is  dedicated  to  the  voters  of  Cook  County 
with  the  hope  that  it  may  answer  some  of  the  nmnerous 
questions  asked  during  the  past  two  years  concerning  the 
organization  of  the  County,  and  promote  an  intelligence 
among  citizens  concerning  County  problems  that  will 
prove  a  corrective  and  incentive  to  County  officials  in  the 
performance  of  their  duties,  and  that  will  demand  pro- 
gressive administration. 

A.  A.  McCORMICK, 
President  County  Board — 1912-14. 


o 

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TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

I.  Dedication. 

II.  Introduction. 

III.  Government  of  the  County. 

IV.  Taxation. 

V.  Executive  Departments  of  Cook  County. 

1.  The  County  Treasurer. 

2.  The  Sheriff. 

3.  The  Coroner. 

4.  The  County  Clerk. 

5.  The  Recorder. 

6.  Department  of  Public  Service. 

7.  The  Comptroller. 

8.  Highways  Commissioner. 

VI.  Charity  Service  in  Cook  County. 

1.  The  County  Agent. 

2.  Institutional   Care. 

a.  Oak  Forest  Institutions. 

b.  County  Hospital. 

c.  County  Psychopathic  Hospital. 

3.  Social  Service. 

a.  Social  Service  Investigators. 

b.  Support  Department  of  County  Court. 

c.  Bureau  of  Public  Welfare. 

VII.  Courts  of  Cook  County, 

1.  Circuit  Court. 

2.  Probate  Court. 

3.  County  Court! 

4.  Clerks  of  Court. 

5.  Adult  Probation  Department. 

6.  Juvenile   Court. 

7.  Juvenile  Detention  Home. 

VIII.  Schools  of  Cook  County. 
IX.     Civil  Service. 

X.     The  County  Budget. 
XI.     A  County  Program. 
Bibliography. 


A  Study  of  Cook  County 

INTRODUCTION 

A  statement  of  the  problem  of  County  Government  is 
valuable  at  this  time  to  give  exact  information  of  the  organi- 
zation of  the  County  to  the  newly  enfranchised  women,  to 
help  focus  attention  aroused  by  spectacular  events  of  the 
past  two  years  on  the  real  questions  at  issue,  to  arouse  re- 
sponse to*^  the  pitiful  human  appeals  of  those  dependents 
whose  lives  are  in  the  County's  keeping,  and  for  whom' 
many  citizens  crave  the  benefits  of  the  higher  standards  of 
intelligent  skilled  care  of  today. 

It  is  true  that  the  County  shows  backwardness  in  re- 
form, that  the  recent  movement  that  claims  cities  as  the 
''hope  of  democracv,"  has  left  in  the  forgotten  background 
the  County  unit  of  government,  that  the  so-called  machine 
politician  is  found  in  evidence  in  County  offices  and  County 
business;  but  it  is  also  true  that  a  large  element  in  the 
County  problem  is  the  understanding  of  the  voters.  To 
many  citizens  the  County  exists  as  a  mere  boundary  line, 
and  this  attitude  has  resulted  in  indifference  to  its  complex 
functions  and  a  lack  of  general  interest  that  has  brought 
forth  weak,  inefficient,  and,  at  times,  dishonest  government. 
To  contribute  to  the  understanding  of  County  government, 
and  to  arouse  the  intelligent  interest  of  the  voters  is  the  pur- 
pose of  this  work. 

Though  women's  part  in  the  County  problem  is  small 
legally,  the  Act  of  Julv  1,  1913,  conferring  upon  them  the 
power  to  vote  for  but  few  of  the  County  officers,  their 
natural  interest  and  general  experience  make  them  pe- 
culiarlv  valuable  citizens  in  the  County  field. 

It  is  hoped  that  this  pamphlet  mav  provide  a  basis  for 
a  fundamental  intelligent  imderstanding  of  the  County 
prol)lems,  and  that  between  its  lines  may  be  read  an  appeal 
for  citizens  to  arouse  themselves  to  a  solution  of  the  com- 
plexities of  County  organization  and  to  a  higher  standard 
of  care  for  the  County  charges — these  ''least  among  us." 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 


The  Government  of  Cook  County 


The  counties  in  Illinois  are  divided  into  three  classes: 
(1)  Those  having  township  organization;  (2)  those  having 
no  township  organization,  and  (3)  Cook  County,  whose  gov- 
ernment, while  like  neither  of  the  other  kinds  of  counties, 
shares  certain  features  with  both. 

Counties  Having  Township  Organization 

Those  counties  which  have  township  organization  are 
governed  by  the  to^\Ti  officers  so  far  as  the  interests  of  the 
separate  towns  are  concerned,  and  these  town  officers  acting 
together  constitute  a  County  Board  to  whom  are  entrusted 
the  matters  which  are  of  concern  to  the  entire  county.  The 
town  officers  are:  (1)  the  Supervisor,  who  receives  and  pays 
out  all  money  on  township  accounts,  who  is  ex-officio  super- 
visor of  the  poor  and  a  member  of  the  County  Board.  The 
Town  Supervisor  serves  for  one  year  and  makes  an  annual 
financial  report  to  the  County  Board. 

(2)  An  Assistant  Supervisor  is  elected  for  a  term  of 
one  year  in  towns  that  have  at  least  4,000  inhabitants,  and 
for  every  2,500  inhabitants  an  additional  Supervisor  is 
elected.  The  duty  of  these  Assistant  Supervisors  is  to  serve 
on  the  County  Board. 

(3)  The  Town  Clerk,  who  is  the  secretary  of  the 
town,  keeps  its  records  and  the  custody  of  its  papers,  and 
annually  notifies  the  County  Clerk  of  the  amount  required 
to  be  raised  by  taxation  for  the  county  purposes.  He  serves 
for  two  years  and  is  elected  in  the  even  numbered  years. 

(4)  The  Assessor  determines  the  value  of  property 
which  is  subject  to  taxation  in  the  town,  serves  for  two 
years,  and  is  elected  at  the  same  thne  as  the  Town  Clerk. 

(5)  The  Collector,  or  the  County  Clerk,  collects  taxes 
due  for  })roperty  in  the  county.  His  term  is  likewise  two 
years  and  his  election  is  also  at  the  same  time  as  that  of  the 
Town  Clerk.  There  is  also  a  Town  Board  of  Health,  com- 
posed of  the  Supervisor,  the  Assessor  and  the  Town  Clerk 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY  7 

in  each  town.  This  board  may  appoint  medical  men  as 
health  officers,  provide  free  vaccination,  and  require  reports 
upon  dangerous  communicable  diseases. 

(6)  In  addition  to  these  officers,  there  is  a  Board  of 
Highway  Commissioners,  consisting  of  three  members,  one 
elected  each  yeaT  for  a  term  of  three  years.  The  Town 
Clerk  acts  as  clerk  to  the  board,  and  the  Town  Supervisor 
is  ex-officio  treasurer. 

Counties  Not  Under  Township  Organization 

Counties  not  under  township  organization  are  governed 
by  a  Board  of  County  Commissioners.  This  board  consists 
usually  of  three  Conmiissioners,  elected  one  each  year  at 
the  November  election  by  the  County  at  large,  for  a  term 
of  three  j^ears.  This  board  has  general  charge  of  the  affairs 
of  the  county,  cares  for  county  property,  supervises  the  ad- 
ministration of  county  institutions  and  levies  taxes  and  may 
create  a  Board  of  Health.  Each  Commissioner  receives  a 
salary  fixed  by  statute,  dependent  upon  the  x^opulation  of 
the  county. 

Cook  County 

The  government  of  Cook  County  partakes  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  government  of  both  the  other  kinds  of  counties. 
Its  governing  body  is  the  Board  of  Commissioners  of  Cook 
County,  consisting  of  ten  members  chosen  from  Chicago  by 
the  legal  voters  of  Chicago,  and  five  members  chosen  from 
outside  of  Chicago  b}^  these  who  live  outside  of  the  cori)oratG 
limits  of  the  city.  So  far  as  the  30  towns  outside  of  Chicago 
are  concerned,  the  Board  has  the  powers  and  duties  of  Boards 
in  Counties  having  township  organization.  For  the  seven 
towns  within  Chicago,  it  has  the  powers  of  Boards  in  Coun- 
ties not  having  township  organization.  The  30  to^\Tis  out- 
side of  the  corporate  limits  of  Chicago  are  governed  as  towns 
in  other  Counties  having  township  organization,  except  that 
the  Town  Supervisors  are  not  members  of  the  County 
Board.  The  seven  to^^ms  which  lie  wholly  in  Chicago  have 
no  separate  corporate  government.  In  their  cases,  the 
County  Treasurer  is  ex-officio  Supervisor  and  ex-officio  Col- 
lector, and  the  County  Clerk  is  ex-officio  Town  Clerk  and 
Assessor.     All  powers  that  would  regularly  belong  to  the 


8  A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 

township  government  are  given  to  tiie  Board  of  Commis- 
sioners of  Cook  County. 

The  Board  of  Commissioners  of  Cook  County  is  in 
many  respects  unlike  the  County  Board  of  other  counties. 
The  president,  for  example,  is  not  elected  by  the  Commis- 
sioners from  among  their  own  number,  but  is  elected  by  the 
legal  voters  at  the  time  of  the  regular  election,  when  each 
voter  must  indicate  separately  which  candidate  he  wishes  to 
be  president.  The  residence  required  for  the  Commissioner 
of  Cook  Count}^  has  been  held  to  be  only  one  year,  whereas 
for  the  County  Commissioner  in  other  counties  it  is  five 
years.  The  term  of  office  of  Cook  County  Commissioner  is 
four  years.  The  Board  meets  regularly  on  the  first  Monday 
of  December,  January,  February,  March,  June  and  Sep- 
tember, but  adjourned  meetings  are  usually  held  on  Monday 
of  each  week,  except  during  July  and  August,  when  they  are 
held  every  second  Monday. 

The  president  may  vote  as  commissioner  and  he  may 
have  a  casting  vote  as  president.  He  can  not  vote  in  both 
capacities  on  the  same  question.  He  has  veto  power  over 
any  resolution  appropriating  money  or  involving  the 
county's  finances;  but  this  veto  can  be  overruled  by  a  vote 
of  four-fifths  of  the  Commissioners.  He  appoints  each  year 
one  member  to  the  Civil  Service  Commission,  which  consists 
of  three  members,  and  conducts  examinations  for  the  selec- 
tion of  employes  for  such  offices  as  are  under  the  county 
civil  service  law.  He  likewise  appoints  the  heads  of  certain 
institutions  in  the  county  who  are  not  under  the  civil  service, 
as,  for  example,  the  County  Agent,  the  Superintendent  of 
the  Oak  Forest  institutions,  the  Warden  of  Cook  County 
Hospital,  and  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Service. 

The  county  is  a  governmental  unit,  to  which  is  en- 
trusted the  care  of  the  aged  and  sick  poor,  of  prisoners  who 
are  awaiting  trial,  or  who  are  convicted  of  offenses  less 
serious  than  felony.  The  county  may  therefore  establish 
an  ahnshouse,  a  county  hospital,  a  tuberculosis  sanitarium, 
a  county  jail,  and  a  workhouse.  It  must  provide  a  court 
house,  with  offices  and  supplies  for  a  county  Circuit  Court, 
as  well  as  for  the  county  officers.  It  must  also  take  meas- 
ures to  protect  the  health,  maintain  reasonably  good  roads, 
and  enforce  state  laws  for  the  prevention  of  cruelty  to  ani- 
mals.   The  County  Board  may  therefore  buy  and  sell  real 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY  9 

estate,  make  the  contracts  necessary  for  the  performance  of 
these  duties,  and  levy  taxes  for  county  i^urposes. 

Some  idea  of  the  responsibility  of  the  Board  of  Com- 
missioners of  Cook  County  can  be  obtained  if  one  reviews 
the  mere  statement  of  the  revenues  which  are  distributed 
under  its  provision.  In  the  report  of  the  Committee  of- 
Finance  for  1914,  the  estimated  revenues  of  the  county  are 
stated  to  be  as  follows :  First,  taxes,  $5,532,318.20 ;  fees  paid 
in,  $2,069,000;  miscellaneous  receipts,  $20,000,  making  a 
total  estimated  revenue  from  ordinary  sources,  $7,621, 
318.20.  In  addition  to  these  receipts  there  were  certain  spe- 
cial resources  available  for  corporate  purposes  to  which  at- 
tention might  be  called.  Among  the  a]3propriations,  how- 
ever, certain  items  seem  of  special  interest.  For  example, 
for  the  County  Hospital  building  fund,  in  connection  with 
which  many  scandalous  rumors  have  been  afloat,  there  was 
an  appropriation  of  $209,958.  For  the  Psychopathic  Hos- 
pital, erected  in  a  record-breaking  time  at  an  extraordinarily 
low  price  per  bed,  an  appropriation  of  $320,813 ;  for  a  new 
t)uilding  and  a  cemetery  at  Oak  Forest,  an  appropriation 
of  $854,000.  The  total  appropriation  for  salaries  and  wages 
is  in  round  numbers  $3,497,000 ;  for  office  supplies  and  ex- 
penses, $76,000;  for  general  supplies,  $704,000;  for  light, 
heat  and  power,  $153,800;  for  the  Industrial  School  fund, 
$180,000;  for  the  Hospital  Nursing  fund,  $197,000;  for  the 
Parents'  Pension  fund,  $100,000.  There  are  3,542  employes 
carried  on  the  County  pay  roll  with  a  salary  amounting  in  the 
aggregate  to  $3,497,109.  The  mere  recital  of  these  enormous 
sums  of  money  expended  and  this  great  army  of  employees 
engaged  under  the  direction  of  the  fifteen  County  Commis- 
sioners gives  some  idea  of  the  responsibility  and  powers 
entrusted  to  them,  and  of  the  seriousness  of  the  problem 
confronting  the  voter  at  the  time  of  their  selection. 


10  A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 


Taxation  in  Cook  County 

''In  order  that  the  government  may  have  the  income 
with  which  to  carry  on  its  functions,  taxes  are  levied  and 
collected.  The  amount  of  taxes  that  anyone  must  pay  de- 
pends upon  the  value  of  his  property.  Estimating  the  value 
of  the  property  in  the  community  for  this  purpose  is  called 
'assessing'  it.  This  work  is  done  chiefly  through  the  county 
organization. ' '  In  Cook  County,  as  in  other  counties  of  125,- 
000  or  more  inhabitants,  a  Board  of  Assessors  is  elected  for 
this  purpose.  ' '  The  Board  consists  of  five  persons,  not  more 
than  four  of  whom  can  be  from  the  same  city,  elected  at  the 
November  elections,  two  every  six  years  from  1900,  e.g., 
1912  and  1918 ;  two  every  six  years  from  1902,  e.g.,  1914  and 
1920,  and  one  every  six  years  from  1898,  e.g.,  1916."^ 

Assessors  are  required,  by  the  Revenue  Law  of  1898,  to 
take  a  special  oath  of  office,  and  to  give  bond  to  diligently, 
faithfully,  and  impartially  perform  the  duties  enjoined  by 
law. 

The  duties  of  Assessors  are  to  value  and  assess  for 
taxation  real  and  personal  property,  of  which  lists  are  pre- 
pared by  the  County  Clerk.  "The  Assessor  is  required  every 
fourth  year  to  view  and  value  each  tract  or  lot  of  land,  and 
in  the  intervening  years  to  list  and  assess  real  propert}^  not 
on  the  assessment  list,  to  add  the  value  of  improvements  and 
make  deductions  for  any  impairment  of  value.  The  revenue 
law  provides  that  personal  property  shall  be  listed  by  the 
owners.  Assessors  are  also  required  to  call  at  the  office  or 
residence  of  each  person  required  to  list  property  and  secure 
a  sworn  statement  of  his  taxable  property ;  and  whenever  he 
fails  to  obtain  such  a  statement  it  is  his  duty  to  assess  the 
value  of  such  property."^ 

The  decision  of  the  Assessors  is  not  final  but  "is  subject 
to  correction  and  review  by  a  Board  of  Review,  consisting 
of  three  members,  elected  for  a  term  of  six  years.  They 
assess  property  not  assessed  by  the  Board  of  Assessors,  and 

^Alice  Greenacre,  Handbook  for  the  Women  Voters  of  Illinois,  edited  by  S.  P.  Brenckin- 
ridge,    pp.    64-65. 

^Report  of  the  Joint  Legislative  Committee,  47th  General   Assembly,   p.   147. 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY  11 

hear  complaints  against  the  actions  of  the  Board  of  Asses- 
sors."^ 

For  support  of  the  offices  of  Assessors-  and  Board  of 
Review,"  $271,420  was  appropriated  in  1914,  of  which  the 
great  bulk — $267,920 — went  for  salaries,  and  the  rest,  $3,500, 
for  office  expenses.  Each  of  the  five  Assessors  has  a  salary 
of  $5,000.  The  staff  of  the  Assessors  includes  a  building 
evaluation  expert,  21  real  estate  experts,  besides  draughts- 
men, clerks,  stenographers,  etc.,  totaling  96  employes,  in- 
cluding 29  township  assessors  who  are  elected,  as  well  as 
a  number  of  extra  day  men  preparing  real  estate  and  per- 
sonal propertj^  assessments.  The  total  salary  appropriation 
for  1914  for  the  Assessors  and  their  staff  is  $181,160.  The 
total  salary  appropriation  in  the  office  of  the  Board  of  Re- 
view is  $86,760.  This  office  force  includes  26  regular  workers, 
largely  clerks,  besides  a  number  of  ''extras."  The  salary 
of  each  of  the  three  members  of  the  Board  of  Review  is 
$7,000. 

The  aggregate  valuation  of  property  for  the  county  as 
set  by  these  two  boards  "may  be  altered  by  the  State  Board 
of  Equalization,  which  also  assesses  the  property  of  rail- 
roads and  the  capital  stock  of  certain  classes  of  Illinois  cor- 
porations." "After  equalization  by  the  State  Board  of 
Equalization,  the  assessment  rolls  are  turned  over  to  the 
County  Clerk.  To  the  County  Clerk  also  are  certified  the 
State  tax  rate,  the  County  tax  rate,  the  Sanitar}^  District 
rate,  the  city  corporate,  city  bond  and  tuberculosis  sani- 
tarium rates,  the  school  building  and  educational  rates,  the 
South,  AYest  and  Lincoln  Park  rates,  those  for  several  smal- 
ler park  districts,  and  the  rates  for  the  various  to^^^lS  and 
villages  and  school  districts  outside  of  Chicago,"  making  a 
total  amount  levied  through  the  Clerk's  hands  of  some  $40,- 
000,000.  "It  is  the  duty  of  the  County  Clerk  to  apply  the 
appropriate  rate  to  each  piece  of  property  on  the  assessment 
rolls  and  extend  the  resultant  total  as  a  single  charge.  In 
doing  so,  however,  he  is  restrained  by"^  the  complicated  pro- 
visions of  the  Juul  law. 

' '  Under  the  Juul  law,  if  the  aggregate  of  the  tax  levies 
will  require  a  total  rate,  in  any  taxing  district,  above  the 
maxmium  allowed,  the  Count}^  Clerk  must  reduce  the  rate 

1.  Bramhall,  F.  D.,  Cook  County  and  Chicago,  Report  of  Joint  Legislative  Committee, 
p.   182. 

2.  Women  may  vote  for  members  of  board  of  review  and  board  of  assessors. 


12  A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 

proportionately.  Before  1909,  when  the  taxable  value  was 
one-fifth  of  the  '  full  value, '  the  ordinary  maximum  rate  was 
5  per  cent.  In  1909  the  legal  basis  was  changed  to  one- 
third  ;  and  the  ordinary  maximum  tax  rate  was  reduced  to 
3  per  cent.  But  certain  taxes  are  not  scaled  down  below 
fixed  limits;  and  the  final  result  is  often  a  rate  above  the 
ordinary  maximum. 

' '  The  law  regulating  tax  levies  and  the  maximum  rates 
is  so  complex  that  it  sometimes  happens  that  taxes  are 
levied  and  extended  on  the  collector's  books  which  do  not 
comply  with  all  the  requirements.  Such  taxes  may  later 
be  held  invalid  and  their  collection  restrained  on  behalf  of 
railroad  corporations,  or  other  large  taxpayers,  while  the 
great  majority  of  small  taxpayers  pay  the  amounts  ex- 
tended on  the  collector's  books.  In  other  cases  the  arbi- 
trary standards  of  the  statute  give  some  local  authorities 
more  funds  than  they  can  use  while  other  authorities  .... 
have  less  than  is  necessary  for  the  performance  of  their 
duties. 

"To  meet  these  difficulties  several  suggestions  have 
been  made:  that  ....  a  competent  attorney  be  em- 
ployed to  see  that  the  tax  levies  are  made  as  provided  by 
law,  or  that  the  State's  Attorney  be  required  to  certify  in 
writing  as  to  the  validity  of  tax  levies  before  the  taxes  are 
extended ;  that  taxes  should  be  levied  on  an  order  from  the 
County  Judge,  on  application  from  the  taxing  authorities 
and  after  hearing  objections;  or  that  there  should  be  a 
County  Board  of  Taxation  to  pass  on  the  total  levy. 

"There  is  certainly  need  for  more  co-ordination  and  a 
greater  concentration  of  responsibility  in  making  tax  levies ; 
and  there  should  be  some  authority  with  discretionary  power 
to  adjust  the  apportionment  of  taxes  between  the  several 
spending  authorities,  in  place  of  the  intricate  and  mechani- 
cal provisions  of  the  Juul  law."^ 

^Report  of  Joiat  Legislative  Committee,   pp.   151-152. 


THE    V>T 


COOK 


0 


ELECTION 
COMM1S5IONER5  O) 


_  Elective   OfficioU 

I  I  Ins-tituVions  or  Appointive  Officials 

a.  President  Included 

b.  Elected  bi^  their  respective Townshipa 


CHART  OF  01 

OF  THE  "=' 


COOK  COU 

SHOWING    LINES    Q 
SALARY  RATES  FON 


COUNTY  INFIRMARY  A,r,D 
TUBERCULOSIS  HOSPITAL 
AT   OAK      FORE  ST 


[NIZATION 

I*  WENT 

ILLINOIS 

Ithority  and 
|:tive  officials 


Prepared    By 

CHICAGO  8UREAU  OF  PUBLIC  EFFICIENCY 

1313 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY  13 


The  Executive  Departments  of 
Cook  County 

The  executive  departments  of  the  county  government 
comprise  the  five  offices  of  Sheriff,  Coroner,  County  Clerk, 
Recorder,  and  County  Treasurer.  These  are  all  elective 
officials  serving  a  four-years'  term.  The  Sheriff  and  the 
Treasurer  are  not  eligible  for  re-election.  Each  of  the  five 
appoints  the  employes  working  under  him.  Their  salaries 
are  fixed  by  the  County  Board.  The  final  responsibility  for 
the  amount  of  help  in  these  offices  lies  with  the  Judges  of 
the  Circuit  Court,  who  are  required  by  the  Constitution  to 
fix  the  number  of  deputies  and  assistants.  Obviously,  the 
Judges  have  no  way  of  ascertaining  the  necessary  number 
without  investigation.  Funds  should  be  appropriated  for 
such  investigations  to  enable  the  Judges  to  perform  intelli- 
gently this  function,  so  important  to  the  efficiency  and 
economy  of  the  executive  offices. 

The  total  number  of  about  one  thousand  employes  in  these 
five  departments  costs  the  County  in  salaries  annually  more 
than  one  and  a  half  million  dollars. 

The  County  Treasurer 

Perhaps  the  most  important  of  the  executive  officers  is 
the  County  Treasurer,  inasmuch  as  he  handles  each  vear 
from  $60,000,000  to  $70,000,000  of  public  money.  The  County 
Treasurer  serves  ex-officio  as  County  Collector,  and  also  as 
Town  Collector  and  Town  Supervisor  of  the  seven  towns 
lying  wholly  within  the  City  of  Chicago. 

As  Treasurer,  his  duties  involve  primarily  the  receipt, 
custod}^,  and  disbursement  of  the  revenues  and  funds  of 
Cook  County,  as  well  as  certain  other  funds  of  which  the 
Legislature  has  designated  him  ^s  custodian.  He  collects, 
also,  the  inheritance  taxes  of  the  state.  As  County  Collector 
his  duties  are  chiefly  those  of  a  collector  of  delinquent  taxes 
and  special  assessments,  which  he  subsequently  turns  over 
to  the  proper  authorities  of  the  State,  County,  City,  Sanitary 


14  A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 

District,  Park  Boards  and.  other  taxing  bodies/  As  Town 
Collector,  the  Treasurer's  duties  are  simply  those  of  a  col- 
lector of  current  general  taxes  levied  on  both  real  and  per- 
sonal property.  As  Town  Collector  he  begins  to  receive 
such  taxes  as  soon  as  the  collector's  warrants  are  turned 
over  to  him  by  the  County  Clerk — usually  early  in  January 
— and  continues  his  collection  until  March  10,  when  as 
''County  Collector"  he  goes  through  the  formality  of  set- 
tling his  accounts  with  himself  as ' '  Town  Collector, ' '  and  as 
"Town  Collector"  turns  over  the  books  to  himself  as 
' '  County  Collector. ' '  The  taxes  which  he  collects  as  ' '  Town 
Collector"  he  subsequently  turns  over  to  the  State,  County, 
City,  Sanitary  District,  Park  Boards  and  other  taxing 
bodies.-  As  "Town  Supervisor"  the  Treasurer  is  custodian 
of  certain  moneys  raised  by  the  towns  of  Lake  View  and 
North  Chicago  for  the  acquisition  and  maintenance  of  small 
parks  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Lincoln  Park  Board." 

To  perform  these  duties  the  Treasurer  in  1914  has  em- 
ployed 104  regular  men  besides  50  to  250  "extras,"  at  a 
salary  expense  (including  his  own)  of  $352,235.83.  $19,000 
for  office  expenses  brings  his  total  expense  budget  up  to 
$371,235.83.  His  own  salary  is  fixed  b}^  the  legislature  at 
$4,000.  He  retains  an  additional  sum  amounting  to  $10,500 
a  year  in  commissions  as  Town  Collector.  He  retains  a 
further  additional  sum  of  fees  for  the  collection  of  in- 
heritance taxes.  This  amounted  to  $20,617.64  in  1911,  and 
is  steadily  increasing. 

While  for  several  years  past  the  Treasurer  has  turned 
into  the  public  treasury  large  sums  of  money  on  account  of 
interest  earned  on  public  funds  in  his  custody,  there  is  evi- 
dence that  much  larger  amounts  would  have  accrued  to  the 
benefit  of  the  public  if  the  funds  had  been  properly  ad- 
ministered and  all  of  the  interest  earned  accounted  for. 

The  control  of  the  Treasurer  over  the  disposal  of  funds 
while  in  his  custody  is  absolute.  He  may  keep  them  in  his 
own  vaults  or  bank  them  at  interest  as  he  pleases.  He  is 
also  absolutely  liable  for  them  until  their  disbursement. 
Two  sets  of  account  books  are  kept  by  the  Treasurer — 
"public"  records  and  "private"  records.  Although  the 
Treasurer  is  required  by  law  to  submit  his  accounts  at  least 

1.  "Office  of   the  County  Treasurer   of  Cook  County."     Nov.,   1913.     Report   of   the 
Chicago  Bureau  of  Public  Efficiency,   p.  22. 

2.  Same,    p.    23. 

3.  Same,  p.  24. 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY  15 

twice  a  year  to  the  County  Board,  the  so-called  "private" 
records  of  money,  kept  by  public  employes  at  public  ex- 
pense, he  has  not  allowed  to  be  examined  by  citizen,  tax- 
payer or  County  Board.  Thus  there  has  been  absolutely  no 
real  check  or  audit  upon  his  accounts  except  such  as  may 
have  been  conducted  by  himself  or  his  private  bondsman. 
Despite  the  law  the  Treasurer  has  held  large  sums  collected 
for  the  different  taxing  bodies  long  after  they  were  due. 
He  has  withheld  from  the  public  records  the  receipt  of  sums 
amounting  to  as  much  as  $23,000,000  for  as  long  as  six 
months  at  a  time,  thus  making  it  impossible  to  determine  the 
precise  amount  of  interest  he  has  or  might  have  obtained. 
After  a  thorough  investigation  of  the  ' '  public  records, ' '  for 
the  year  1911,  the  Bureau  of  Public  Efficiency  computed  the 
interest  which  the  public  moneys  held  by  the  Treasurer  dur- 
ing this  year  should  have  earned  to  be  not  less  than  $281,- 
526.18,  or  $130,968.79  more  than  the  amount  actually  turned 
over  to  the  County  by  the  Treasurer. 

The  Treasurer  tendered  to  the  County  Board  in  1913  only 
$171,396.48.  This  amount  was  accepted  and  efforts  made  on 
the  part  of  the  minority  members  to  get  an  accounting,  but 
without  success. 

The  defects  in  the  administration  of  funds  in  the  Treas- 
urer's office  are  so  great  as  to  be  remediable  only  by  legisla- 
tive changes.  The  Bureau  of  Public  Efficiency  recommends 
the  following  enactments : 

1.  "To  make  it  mandatory  upon  the  Treasurer  to  de- 
posit such  funds  in  banks  to  be  designated  by  the  County 
Board ;  such  deposits  to  be  made  upon  conditions  similar  to 
those  which  now  obtain  with  respect  to  the  deposit  of  the 
funds  of  the  City  of  Chicago. 

2.  "To  relieve  the  Treasurer  of  all  responsibility  for 
such  funds  when  he  has  deposited  the  same  in  such  banks 
and  Avhile  in  the  custod}^  of  the  banks,  and  to  permit  the 
withdrawal  of  the  funds  from  the  banks  upon  the  order  of 
the  Treasurer  only  when  accompanied  by  a  warrant  or  order 
signed  by  some  officer  to  be  designated  for  such  purpose. 

3.  "To  authorize  the  County  Board  to  contract  for  the 
pa3nnent  of  interest  on  such  bank  deposits  and  to  prohibit 
the  County  Treasurer,  or  any  other  public  official,  from  re- 
taining any  of  the  interest  accruing  on  sucli  deposits,  or  any 


16  A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 

profit,  prerequisite,  or  emolument  on  account  thereof. 

4.  "To  provide  for  the  keeping  of  proper  accounts  in 
connection  with  the  administration  of  such  funds  and  the 
interest  thereon ;  for  the  examination  and  audit  of  such  ac- 
counts by  a  disinterested  officer  or  agency ;  and  for  an  ade- 
quate degree  of  publicity  concerning  the  manner  in  which 
such  funds  are  handled  and  all  the  records  and  accounts 
thereof  kept. 

5.  "To  make  suitable  provisions  concerning  the  nature 
and  amount  of  the  bonds  to  be  furnished  by  the  Treasurer." 

6.  ' '  To  provide  definite  and  adequate  compensation  for 
the  Treasurer." 

The  Sheriff 

The  office  of  Sheriff  was  formerly  almost  as  rich  a  po- 
litical plum  as  that  of  the  Treasurer,  and  worth  from  $75,- 
000  to  $100,000  a  year.  Since  the  contracting  for  the  feed- 
ing of  prisoners  has  been  taken  out  of  the  Sheriff's  hands, 
however,  and  the  fees  of  the  office  have  been  paid  into  the 
Count}^  Treasury,  the  Sheriff  has  received  a  salary  of  $9,960 
a  year. 

The  Sheriff:  is  the  "arm  of  the  judge,"  or  "court  mes- 
senger," carrying  out  the  orders  of  the  judge.  He  sells 
property  for  de])t,  takes  a  prisoner  to  jail,  or  hangs  him,  if 
the  judge  so  orders.  He  serves  and  executes  warrants,  sum- 
monses and  other  writs.  He  is  custodian  of  the  County 
Building,  Criminal  Court  House  and  County  Jail.  He  is 
resi3onsi1)le  for  the  care  and  safe-keeping  of  the  prisoners 
in  the  jail.  To  perform  these  duties  the  Sheriff  employs 
500  persons  at  a  salary  expense  to  the  county  of  more  than 
$572,000. 

Of  these  500  employes  204  are  firemen,  electricians, 
engineers,  watclmien,  elevator  operators,  janitors,  etc.,  in  the 
County  Building.  Fifty-seven  more  with  similar  occupa- 
tions work  in  the  Criminal  Court  Building,  and  eighty-one 
more,  including  jailers,  cooks,  matrons,  and  physicians,  in 
the  County  Jail. 

Of  the  153  employes  in  the  Sheriff's  general  office  for 
which  the  Board  made  appropriations  in  1914,  111  are  bail- 
iffs, including  two  chief  bailiffs,  and  twenty-six  are  deputy 
sheriffs.  The  deputy  sheriffs  are  chiefly  employed  in  the 
service  of  writs.     For  an  estimated  six-hour  day  of  such 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY  11 

employment  each  deputy  sheriff  receives  a  salary  of  $1,890. 
Of  this  each  pays  $120  a  year  to  a  "return"  clerk,  who  pre- 
pares the  endorsement  of  the  official  "return"  of  the  Sheriff 
on  all  writs.  The  bailiffs  are  almost  evenly  divided  between 
the  Criminal  Court  Building-  and  the  office  of  the  chief  bailiff" 
in  the  County  Building.  They  perform  two  classes  of 
duties :  first,  work  at  the  courts' handling  prisoners  and  keep- 
ing order;  second,  the  serving  of  jury  summonses  (which 
might  be  done  quite  as  effectively  by  mail)  and  certain 
classes  of  writs  such  as  habeas  corpus,  attaclmients  for  con- 
tempt, subpoenas,  etc.  Bailiffs  are  paid  $125  a  month,  as- 
sistant chief  bailiffs,  $137.50. 

Besides  the  bailiffs  and  deputy  sheriffs  working  out  of 
the  Sheriff's  office,  there  are  in  this  office  twelve  clerks,  a 
cashier,  and  an  assistant  sheriff  at  $3,000  a  year.  The  prin- 
cipal officer  is  a  chief  deputy  at  $4,000  a  year,  who  is  directly 
in  charge  of  administration  of  the  general  office,  personally 
conducts  all  Sheriff' 's  sales  of  real  estate,  handles  the  so- 
called  ' '  trust  funds, ' '  with  their  records  and  documents,  and 
also  the  bank  accounts.  Besides  $582,703.10  appropriated 
in  1914  for  salaries  in  the  Sheriff's  budget,  $1,350  were  ap- 
propriated for  office  expenses,  $25,000  for  dieting  prisoners 
in  jail,  and  $90,900  for  general  supplies,  also  light,  heat, 
power,  repair,  furniture  and  other  expenses  for  the  County 
Building,  Criminal  Court  Building  and  Countv  Jail,  mak- 
ing a  total  of  $699,953. 

The  Coroner 

The  offices  of  Sheriff  and  Coroner  are  the  oldest  in  the 
entire  county,  dating  l^ack  to  the  English  "Shire  Reeve" 
and  "Crowner,"  the  king's  personal  representatives  in  the 
shire  or  county.  The  Coroner  is  the  only  man  who  can 
arrest  the  Sheriff,  and  he  acts  as  Sheriff  if  the  latter  is  at 
any  time  unable  to  serve.  The  chief  duty  of  the  Coroner, 
however,  is  the  investigation,  either  in  person  or  by  deputy, 
of  all  deaths  which  appear  to  have  been  accidental,  violent, 
caused  by  undue  means,  or  where  there  is  no  physician's 
certificate  stating  cause  of  death.  Inquests  are  held  and 
witnesses  examined  before  a  jury  of  six. 

The  Coroner  receives  a  salary  of  $9,000  a  year.  The 
chief  deputy  coroner,  whose  salary  is  $3,300,  has  charge  of 
the  office  and  gives  assignments  daily  to  ten  deputy  coro- 


18  A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 

ners  working  out  of  this  office  at  a  salary  of  $2,000  each. 
The  duties  of  these  ten  deputy  coroners  are  to  hold  inquests 
and  to  receive  personal  property  found  on  the  bodies  of  the 
deceased. 

There  are  also  four  physicians  and  deputies.  One  re- 
ceives $2,500  a  year  and  three  receive  $2,100  each. 

Besides  the  deputies  and  physicians  enumerated,  the 
Coroner's  staff  of  thirty-one  persons  includes  a  chemist, 
statistician,  morgue-keeper,  private  secretary,  clerks, 
typists,  four  court  reporters,  and  other  assistants,  making ' 
up  a  total  salary  budget  of  $64,329.15,  including  the  salary 
of  the  Coroner.  One  thousand  dollars  appropriated  for 
office  expenses  and  $3,000  for  "incidental"  expenses  brings 
the  Coroner's  expense  account  for  1914  up  to  $68,329.15. 

The  County  Clerk 

The  County  Clerk  holds  ex  officio  two  offices,  namel3^ 
Clerk  of  the  County  Board,  and  County  Comptroller.  He 
is  also  Clerk  of  the  County  Court. 

As  Clerk  of  the  County  Court,  he  receives  and  files  docu- 
ments of  the  County  Court  and  issues  j^rocesses,  keeps 
registers,  dockets  and  indexes;  receives  and  disburses  fees 
of  the  court  and  other  funds  chiefly  in  non-support  cases ; 
makes  minutes  of  court  proceedings ;  makes  certified  copies 
of  records  and  documents  on  file  at  the  office.  The  County 
Clerk  issues  marriage  licenses  and  keeps  a  record  of  births, 
deaths  and  marriages.  In  his  office  the  taxes  of  the  different 
taxing  bodies  of  the  County  are  extended  on  the  collector's 
warrants.  He  is  the  responsible  accounting  officer  of  the 
county  government. 

The  County  Clerk  receives  $9,000  a  year.  He  employs 
108  regular  workers  and  is  authorized  to  employ  '^extras"  at 
a  total  salary  in  1914  of  $293,120.  An  additional  $12,000 
for  office  expenses  brings  the  total  1914  appropriation  for 
this  three  offices  up  to  $314,120. 

The  Recorder 

The  prime  function  of  the  Recorder,  as  indicated  by 
his  title,  is  the  recording  of  deeds  and  other  instruments. 
In  addition  the  Recorder  manages  an  abstract  department, 
and  a  department  for  the  registration  of  land  titles  and 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY  19 

transfers  under  the  Torrens  Act.  In  order  to  simplify  the 
dissemination  of  information  regarding-  real  estate  trans- 
fers, the  recording  of  mortgages,  bills  of  sales,  etc.,  the  Re- 
corder also  maintains  a  press  bureau  or  "publicity  depart- 
ment. ' ' 

For  the  operation  of  the  four  departments  $322,530 
were  appropriated  in  1914,  of  which  $312,530  covered  the 
Recorder 's  own  salary  of  $9,000  and  the  salaries  of  his  em- 
ployes, numbering  about  two  hundred  and  seventy-five. 

Department  of  Public  Service 

The  dei^artment  of  Public  Service  is  the  business  office 
of  Cook  County,  purchasing  all  supplies  required  for  the 
various  county  buildings  and  institutions  and  all  the  offices 
in  the  Court  House  and  Criminal  Court  Building.  The  pur- 
chases approximate  $100,000  per  month  and  cover  prac- 
tically all  classes  of  commodities. 

The  department  has  charge  also  of  the  maintenance  of 
all  buildings  owned  by  Cook  County  and  supervises  all  con- 
tracts for  new  buildings.  The  Superintendent  of  Public 
Service  acts  as  the  owner's  representative,  sees  that  the  con- 
tracts are  properly  executed  and,  with  the  County  Architect, 
is  responsible  for  strict  compliance  with  specifications  as  to 
materials  furnished. 

To  maintain  the  county's  buildings  in  proper  condition, 
to  make  renewals  and  replacements,  to  construct  minor 
buildings  and  make  alterations  requires  a  force  of  from 
seventy-five  to  one  hundred  and  ten  mechanics,  such  as 
plumbers,  steamfitters,  electricians,  painters,  etc.  This 
branch  of  the  department  has  also  executed  some  larger  con- 
tracts, such  as  painting  Cook  County  Hospital,  the  Oak 
Forest  Infirmary,  etc.,  which  effected  a  saving  to  the  county 
of  approximately  $19,000  over  the  lowest  proposals  sub- 
mitted by  contractors  for  this  work. 

Comptroller  of  Cook  County 

The  Comptroller  is  the  Auditor  of  Cook  County  and 
pays,  on  the  authorization  of  the  County  Board,  all  bills 
and  salaries.  He  is  independent  of  the  Board,  acting  as 
the  representative  of  the  County  Clerk,  an  elective  officer. 
A  Deputy  Comptroller  is  also  Clerk  of  the  Board  of  County 


20  A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 

Commissioners  and  keeper  of  all  records  and  files  of  that 
Board.  The  annual  report  of  the  County  Comptroller, 
issued  in  February,  1914,  gave  an  extensive  and  intelligent 
analysis  of  County  expenditures.  Estimates  from  the  vari- 
ous departments  are  annually  received  in  this  office  and  a 
preliminary  draft  of  the  "Budget"  prepared. 

Highways  Department 

The  Superintendent  of  Highways,  who  is  in  charge  of 
the  Highways  Department  of  Cook  County,  is  appointed 
by  the  County  Board  for  a  term  of  six  years. 

His  appointment  is  made  under  the  provisions  of  the 
Roads  and  Bridges  Act,  revised  in  1913,  which  requires  that 
the  County  Board  shall  submit  to  the  State  Highways  Com- 
mission the  names  of  from  three  to  five  residents  of  the 
County,  whom  the  State  Commission  shall  examine  as  to 
fitness  for  the  office  and  certify  the  results  to  the  County 
Board,  which  shall  then  appoint  one  of  the  number  Superin- 
tendent of  Highwaj^s. 

The  duties  of  the  Superintendent  of  Highways  are  as 
follows :  Under  the  general  direction  and  with  the  approval 
of  the  State  Highway  Commission^To  prepare  plans,  speci- 
fications and  estimates  for  all  bridges  to  be  built  by  the  Com- 
mission and  to  supervise  the  construction  and  maintenance 
of  any  road  or  bridge  where  the  entire  expense  is  met  by  the 
County ;  to  visit  and  inspect  highways  and  bridges  at  least 
once  a  year,  and  supervise  the  repair  and  maintenance  of  all 
State  Aid  roads  within  his  County. 

The  Highways  Commissioner  is  also  required  to  keep  a 
record  of  all  contracts  and  purchases  of  material,  machinery 
or  apparatus  used  in  road  construction  in  excess  of  two 
hundred  dollars  ($200). 

For  the  construction  of  roads  to  be  built  at  the  joint 
expense  of  the  State  and  County,  the  State  of  Illinois  has 
appropriated  $138,000.00,  and  an  equal  amount  has  been  ap- 
propriated by  Cook  County.  Contracts  have  been  let  aggre- 
gating $188,000.00,  and  during  1914  the  construction  of  14 
miles  of  concrete  roads,  18  feet  wide,  was  begun.  Construc- 
tion of  roads  for  the  remaining  $88,000.00  will  start  in  the 
Spring  of  1915.  Plans  and  specifications  have  been  pre- 
pared for  twelve  bridges,  to  be  constructed  at  an  aggregate 
cost  of  $25,000.00,  of  which  the  County  pays  half  and  the 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY  21 

various  townships  the  other  half.  For  the  repair  and  main- 
tenance of  County  roads,  other  than  those  built  by  State 
Aid,  three  sets  of  road  machinery  have  been  purchased  by 
the  County,  and  are  operated  jointly  by  the  County  and 
townships,  all  the  material  for  repair  being  furnished  by 
the  townships. 


22  A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 


The  Charity  Service 

The  County  Agent 

The  most  important  officer  connected  with  the  care  of 
dependents  by  the  Coimty  is  the  County  Agent.  He  is  the 
representative  of  the  County  to  whom  all  applications  for 
County  Aid  must  be  made.  In  this  work  he  is  governed  by 
the  provisions  of  the  so-called  ''Pauper  Law"  which  re- 
quires recipients  of  aid  to  have  been  residents  of  the  State 
and  County  for  at  least  one  year,  and  which  provides,  within 
certain  degrees  of  kinship,  that  when  possible  relatives  shall 
support  relatives.^ 

The  County  Agent  also  co-operates  with  the  federal  au- 
thorities, giving  them  the  names  of  persons  liable  to  be  de- 
ported under  the  United  States  Immigration  Law,  which 
provides  that  immigrants  who  have  become  public  charges 
within  three  years  after  admission  from  causes  existing 
before  admission,  and  immigrants  who  were  admitted  al- 
though they,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  might  have  been  discovered 
to  be  liable  to  become  public  charges,  may  be  returned  to 
their  former  home. 

The  County  Agent's  representatives  must  therefore 
make  sufficient  inquiry  to  determine  whether  the  applicant 
should  be  helped  by  Cook  County,  or  should  be  returned  to 
another  county,  or  is  ineligible  for  aid  because  of  relatives 
able  to  contribute  to  his  support.  In  1913,  168  cases  were 
investigated  of  non-residents  who  were  thought  properly 
to  be  charges  upon  other  counties,  resulting  in  85  persons 
being  actually  returned  to  the  county  from  which  they  emi- 
grated. 83  applications  were  made  by  the  authorities  of 
other  counties  to  return  residents  to  Cook  County,  of  which 
50  were  accepted  and  33  rejected.  The  transportation  of 
applicants  from  Cook  County  to  the  county  of  their  resi- 
dence, and  from  other  counties  to  Cook  County  in  1913,  cost 
$1,117.14,  and  the  sum  of  $2,000.00  was  appropriated  for 
this  purpose  for  1914. 

When  it  has  been  determined  after  investigation  that  the 
applicant  is  deserving,  the  County  Agent  must  either  him- 
self, or  through  his  assistants,  determine  whether  help  shall 

1.     These    legal    obligations    rest    on    children,    grandchildren,    parents,    grandparents, 
brothers  and  sisters.     Illinois  Revised   Statutes,   Chapter   107. 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 


23 


be  given  in  the  home  of  the  applicant  (Outdoor  Relief)  or 
in  one  of  the  County  Institutions  (Indoor  Relief),  or  ad- 
mission secured  into  an  institution  appropriate  to  the  appli- 
cant's needs.  If  the  application  is  accepted  and  outdoor 
relief  decided  upon,  aid  of  various  kinds  is  given. 

1.  Medical  Aid:  Certain  kinds  of  illness  are  treated 
and  certain  forms  of  medical  care  are  given  in  the  home. 
For  this  purpose,  a  staff  of  16  County  Physicians  is  main- 
tained, and  an  appropriation  of  $15,000.00  was  made  for 
1914  to  cover  medical  service  connected  with  the  County 
Agent's  office,  at  the  rate  of  $1.00  per  visit.  In  1913,  18,005 
persons  were  given  treatment  in  their  homes.  1,389  cases 
were  given  preliminary  treatment  and  then  sent  to  the 
County  Hospital  for  further  attention.  Eye  glasses,  arti- 
ficial limbs,  braces,  and  other  needed  appliances  are  also 
given,  and  mention  may  be  made  at  this  time  of  the  burial 
of  those  who  die  destitute,  who  are  interred  in  the  County 
burial  ground.  182  burials  were  provided  in  1913  through 
the  office  of  the  County  Agent. 

2.  Food  and  other  material  aid:  The  1913  report  of 
the  County  Agent  shows  that  10,063  family  groups,  (9,487 
civilian  and  576  families  of  old  soldiers),  42,002  persons  in 
all,  were  given  material  relief  in  their  homes.  The  heads 
of  4,246  of  these  families  were  Avidows  or  deserted  women, 
with  a  total  of.  10,835  children  to  care  for.  2,585  of  these 
families  received  aid  for  only  one  month.  4,007  families 
were  aided  from  one  to  two  months  while  only  643  families 
had  to  be  aided  throughout  the  entire  12  months. 

The  food  is  distributed  in  portions  known  as  "Rations," 
which  are  graded  to  suit  the  size  of  the  family.  The  follow- 
ing description  of  rations  allowed  in  1913  is  interesting: 


No.  1  Eation 

No.  2  Eation 

No.  3  Eation 

One  Person 

2  or  3  Persons 

4  or  5  Persons 

1  lb.  Soap 

1  lb.  Soap 

2  lbs.  Soap 

2  lbs.  Beans 

5  lbs.  Beans 

5  lbs.  Beans 

2  lbs.  Eice 

4  lbs.  Eice 

6  lbs.  Eice 

2^  lbs.  Eolled  Oats 

2i  lbs.  Eolled  Oats 

5  lbs.  Eolled  Oats 

i  lb.  Coffee 

1  lb.  Coffee 

2  lbs.  Coffee 

i  lb.  Tea 

i  lb.   Tea. 

1  lb.  Tea 

i  Sack  ^  Flour 

1  Sack  J  Spring  Flour 

2  Sacks  k  Flour 

2i  lbs.  Corn  Meal 

2i  lbs.  Corn  Meal 

5  lbs.  Corn  Meal 

2  lbs.  Sugar 

3  lbs.  Sugar 

5  lbs.  Sugar 

2i  lbs.  Syrup 

3  lbs.  Lard 

3  lbs.  Lard 

2i  lbs.  Syrup 

2i  lbs.  Syrup 

Cost  per  Eation, 

91  cts. 

Cost  per  Eation, 

Cost  per  Eation 

$1.77 

$2.81 

24  A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 


No.  4  Eation 

No.  5  Eation 

6  or  7  Persons 

8  or  more  Persons 

2  lbs.  Soap 

2  lbs.  Soap 

5  lbs.  Beans 

5  lbs.  Beans 

6  lbs.  Eice 

6  lbs.  Eice 

5  lbs.  Eolloed  Oats 

5  lbs.  Eolled  Oats 

2  lbs.  Coffee 

2  lbs.  Coffee 

1  lb.  Tea 

1  lb.  Tea 

2  Sacks  i  Flour 

3  Sacks  i  Flour 

1  Sack  t\j  Flour 

5  lbs.  Corn  Meal 

5  lbs.  Corn  Meal 

8  lbs.  Sugar 

7  lbs.  Sugar 

3  lbs.  Lard 

3  lbs.  Lard 

2§  lbs.  Syrup 

2^  lbs.  Syrup 

Cost  Per  Eation,   $3.39 
Cost  per  Eation,  $3.13 


During  1913,  in  addition  to  food,  15,603  pairs  of  shoes,* 
16,733  tons  of  coal,  59,576  quarts  of  milk  and  172,210  pounds 
of  ice,  were  distributed. 

The  staff  of  the  County  Agent  for  1914  included  a  first 
assistant  and  seven  second  assistant  county  agents,  a 
deporting  agent  and  from  15  to  45  relief  investigators, 
as  the  demands  ujDon  the  office  fluctuated.  The  appropria- 
tion for  salaries  of  this  office  for  1914,  including  besides  the 
staff  mentioned  above  the  necessary  clerical,  storeroom  and 
janitor  service,  was  $107,861.85. 

For  the  purpose  of  convenience  to  the  poor,  as  well  as 
economy  and  efficiency  of  service,  the  County  Agent  has 
districted  the  city,  and  maintains  a  branch  in  each  of  the 
eight  districts  whose  boundaries  are  indicated  on  the  map  on 
the  opposite  page.  Outdoor  relief  in  towns  lying  outside 
of  the  city  limits  is  administered  by  the  town  supervisors. 
$23,075  were  appropriated  for  1914  for  relief  to  be  granted 
in  the  respective  towns,  including  payment  at  the  rate  of 
$1.00  a  day  to  the  supervisors  while  acting  as  overseers  of 
the  poor, 

*  Given  school   childreu   on   receipt  of  a  note  from  tlie  principal  after  investigation. 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 


25 


MAP   SHOWING 

OUTDOOR   RELIEF 

DISTRICTS 


26  A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 


Indoor  Relief 

Institutional  Care 

In  case  relief  and  treatment  in  the  home  are  not  appro- 
priate forms  of  service,  the  County  Agent  admits  the  appli- 
cant to  the  County  Hospital,  the  County  Psychopathic  Hos- 
pital, the  Oak  Forest  Infirmary,  or  the  County  institution 
for  tubercular  patients  (located  also  at  Oak  Forest)  as  the 
case  may  demand,  or  supervises  the  examination  which  is 
the  basis  for  admission  to  the  state  institutions  for  the  blind 
and  deaf  (at  Jacksonville),  the  feeble-minded  (at  Lincoln), 
and  the  insane  (at  Kankakee,  Elgin,  Dunning,  Peoria  and 
Watertown).  In  1913  there  were  2,306  such  examinations 
resulting  in  1,756  commitments  to  state  insane  hospitals,  30 
admissions  to  Illinois  Asylum  for  Feeble-minded  Children 
and  2  admissions  to  the  school  for  the  deaf. 

Not  only  is  careful  investigation  very  necessary  in  all 
those  cases  where  money  and  provisions  are  received  from 
the  public,  but  great  care  is  needed  in  admitting  applicants 
for  aid  to  the  public  institutions,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  result 
of  recent  investigations  made  by  the  County  Agent.  After  a 
period  of  lax  administration  it  Avas  possible  to  reduce  the 
daily  population  in  the  County  Hospital  by  four  or  five  hun- 
dred by  eliminating  patients  who  were  political  beneficiaries 
in  no  way  entitled  to  the  service.  A  large  nmuber  of  inmates 
at  Oak  Forest  were  found  who  were  able  to  earn  their  own 
living  or  had  relatives  legally  responsible  and  financially 
able  to  care  for  them.  Each  institution  will  be  subsequently 
described  in  a  separate  paragraph. 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 


27 


28  A  STUDY  OP  COOK  COUNTY 


OAK  FOREST  INSTITUTIONS 

The  Infirmary 

The  care  of  the  aged  aud  infirm  poor  has  been  since 
the  beginning  of  the  17th  century  recognized  as  a  proper 
charge  upon  the  public.  Those  who  because  of  chronic 
feebleness  of  body,  weak  mentality  or  old  age,  are  unable  to 
care  for  themselves  and  who  have  no  able-bodied  relatives 
on  whom  the  dut}"  can  be  rightly  laid  have  been  maintained 
at  the  cost  of  the  parish  in  England,  the  town,  in  states  or- 
ganized after  the  township  method,  or  by  the  county.  The 
method  used  is  sometimes  payment  to  private  individuals 
for  assuming  the  responsibility,  boarding  them  in  private 
homes  or  caring  for  them  in  institutions.  Since  the  cost 
of  their  care  is  borne  by  the  tax-payers,  many  of  whom  have 
very  limited  resources,  great  care  should  be  taken  to  insure 
the  exclusion  of  all  who  are  not  really  dependent.  It  is  also 
important  that  those  who  are  dependent  are  cared  for  as 
economically  as  is  possible  and  maintain  that  measure  of 
comfort,  decency  and  well-being  which  the  state  should  re- 
quire for  all  its  charges. 

The  institution  in  which  Cook  County  cares  for  its  in- 
firm and  aged  has  been  given  the  name  Oak  Forest  Infirmary 
in  the  hope  that  it  may  lose  some  of  the  horror  attached  in 
the  minds  of  the  decent  poor  to  "Poor  House,"  ''Alms- 
house," or  simply  "House."  It  has  been  located  for  the 
past  three  years  on  the  beautiful  county  farm  of  340  acres 
at  Oak  Forest,  which  is  twenty  miles  southwest  of  Chicago 
on  the  Rock  Island  railroad. 

The  two  institutions  at  Oak  Forest  are  the  Infirmary, 
where  the  feeble,  aged,  chronically  sick,  and  a  few  imbecile 
or  physically  handicapped  children*  are  cared  for,  and  the 

Boys  Girls 

♦Population,  December,  1911   38  18 

Admitted.    1912    51  36 

Discharged    51  26 

Died    6  5 

Population,    December,    1912 31  23 

Tubercular  : 

Admitted   37  28 

Discharged    20  14 

Died    3  5 

Population,    December,    1912 14  9 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 


29 


30  A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 

Tuberculosis  Hospital.  In  1913,  the  county  spent  approxi- 
mately $350,000  for  the  support  of  the  two  institutions  and 
cared  for  4,000  persons,  the  number  present  at  any  one  time 
varying  between  1,600  in  the  summer  and  2,100  in  the  winter 
months.  The  corresponding  appropriation  for  1914  is  $400,- 
085. 

Naturally  a  large  proportion  of  the  inmates  are  aged, 
50  per  cent  in  1913  being  over  60  and  70  per  cent  over  50 
years  of  age,  which  is  old  age  among  the  poor,  who  have 
gone  to  work  very  young  and  whose  lives  of  hardship  bring 
them  to  an  early  old  age.  Five  hundred  were  irresponsible, 
feeble-minded,  imbecile  or  even  idiotic.  The  patients  in  the 
Infirmary  come,  of  course,  from  every  kind  of  family  and 
represent  every  kind  of  experience.  Thirty-one  nationali- 
ties beside  American  were  represented  among  them  in  1912, 
and  occupations  as  varied  as  brick  layers,  carpenters,  en- 
gineers, shoemakers,  teamsters,  cabinet  makers,  architects, 
and  actors  were  found  in  their  midst.  The  great  number  of 
men  are,  however,  unskilled  laborers  and  of  the  women, 
housekeepers.  Many  have  lived  in  earlier  days  in  the 
country  or  in  smaller  towns  and  have  done  outdoor  tasks. 
All  have  Avorked,  although  some  have  spent  years  in  more 
or  less  dissipated  ways.  There  are  aged  and  infirm  men 
whose  women-folk  are  dead  and  feeble  old  women  whose 
men-folk  have  died  or  deserted  long  ago.  There  are  a  few 
couples  passing  their  last  years  together  there. 

The  staff  of  employes  to  care  for  so  large  and  so  feeble 
a  jDopulation  is  necessarily  large,  comprising,  besides  the 
general  and  assistant  superintendent,  five  senior  and  ten 
junior  physicians,  a  chief  and  four  assistant  engineers,  three 
housekeepers,  a  head  cook,  a  director  and  two  assistant  di- 
rectors of  nurses,  62  nurses,  and  approximately  50  assistants 
in  the  various  departments  connected  with  the  infirmary. 
From  consideration  both  of  economy  and  of  kindness,  those 
who  can  work  should  be  given  the  opportunity  to  do  so.  This 
means  a  very  considerable  amount  of  supervision ;  it  also  re- 
quires the  exercise  of  great  ingenuity.  They  must  not  be 
overworked,  and  their  tasks  should  be  so  assigned  as  to  give 
them  variety  and  interest  and  incidentally  reduce  the  cost 
of  their  care.  They  have  in  the  past  been  occupied  at  tasks 
adapted  to  their  strength,  such  as  making  brooms,  whisk 
brooms,  mattresses,  pillows,  overalls  and  jumpers,  besides 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 


31 


32  A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 

many  other  articles.  Diirino;  1914  the  superintendent  has, 
with  great  benefit  to  their  health  and  with  profit  to  the  in- 
stitution, undertaken  to  give  them  light  work  about  the 
grounds.  One  venture  has  resulted  in  a  phenominally  suc- 
cessful chicken  farm  which  supplies  chickens  and  eggs  to 
the  tuberculosis  patients,  and  another  in  the  direction  of 
gardening  has  added  variety  to  the  diet  and  given  wholesome 
occupation  to  old  persons  who  have  been  used  to  doing  things 
with  their  hands  on  the  land.  The  question  of  developing 
or  at  least  keeping  alive  such  skill  as  they  possess,  of  pos- 
sibly finding  a  market  for  some  of  their  products,  and  possi- 
bly of  paying  for  certain  kinds  of  tasks  are  problems  to  be 
worked  at  as  the  service  of  this  appealing  group  of  depend- 
ents groAvs  more  intelligent  and  skillful. 

It  may  be  said  now  that  these  pathetic  charges  on  the 
bounty  of  the  state  are  assured  of  clean  and  adequate  lodg- 
ing accommodations,  of  wholesome  food,  of  comfortable 
clothing,  of  light  and  air,  and  the  sight  of  beautiful  stretches 
of  country,  of  the  reasonable  chance  to  exercise  their  feeble 
powers.  When  one  recalls  the  circumstances  from  which 
many  of  these  patients  have  come,  as  the  following  cases 
illustrate,  a  reasonable  hope  of  further  raising  the  standard 
of  care  does  not  seem  groundless. 

The  following  selected  biograj^hies  of  patients  at  Oak 
Forest  show  the  complexity  of  the  human  problem  involved 
in  the  public  care  of  dependents : 

A.  C.  S. — Born  October  2,  1846,  at  Havant,  Hampshire,  England,  and  was 
the  son  of  a  Lieutenant  General.  Educated  at  Eton,  Eoyal  Military  College, 
Sandhurst,  and  Oxford  University.  Entered  the  army  in  June,  1864.  Left  the 
service  after  seven  years,  under  the  terms  of  the  "Act  Allowing  Oflficers  to 
Dispose  of  their  Commissions."  Studied  law,  became  a  barrister  in  the  Middle 
Temple,  London,  and  was  called  to  the  bar  in  1874.  In  1870  was  engaged  as 
military  correspondent  for  the  London  Times  by  the  late  Editor-in-Chief,  Dr. 
Delane!  Subsequently  coming  to  Canada  in  1872,*^  he  landed  at  Quebec  and  went 
to  Montreal,  where  he  engaged  in  the  provision  export  trade  between  Montreal 
and   Liverpool 

Then  he  became  a  member  of  the  journalistic  profession  in  New  York  City, 
being  connected  with  the  New  Y'ork  Herald  more  or  less  for  several  years.  On 
the  publication  of  the  Century  he  joined  the  editorial  staff  of  the  Standard 
English  Dictionary,  which  was  published  by  Funk  &  Wagnals,  publishers,  of 
La  Fayette  Place.  Came  to  Chicago  early  in  1883  and  did  considerable  news- 
paper work;  first  with  the  Chicago  Times,  then  with  the  Chicago  Tribune.  Was 
engaged  as  editor  of  the  Milwaukee  Sentinel  until  late  in  1883,  when  in  June, 
1900,  he  joined  the  staff  of  the  Chicago  American — then  a  morning  paper — as 
night  editor. 

In  June,   1908,  he  met  with   the  accident  which   has  led   to   his  unfortunate 
present    condition.      In    boarding    a    Wentworth    avenue    car    at    the    corner    of 
Jackson    Boulevard   and    Clark    Street,   the    conductor    started    the    car    suddenly  ■ 
when   he   was   in    the   act    of   entering   the    car,   throwing   him    violently    to    the 
ground,  and  he  was  taken  in  the  ambulance  to  the  Cook  County  Hospital.     On 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY  33 

the  subsequent  day,  June  17th,  he  fell  asleep  in  the  afternoon,  and  awakening 
suddenly  he  found  himself  with  his  left  side  paralyzed,  since  which  time  he 
has  been  an  inmate,  first  of  Dunning  and  now  of  Oak  Forest. 

H.  T.,  seventeen  years  of  age  and  a  cripple,  was  sent  to  Oak  Forest  from 
the  County  Hospital,  where  she  had  been  suffering  from  erysipelas.  At  four 
years  of  age  she  was  found  wandering  on  the  street  with  her  mother.  Her 
father  was  dead  and  the  mother  was  found  to  be  insane.  H.  was  placed  in  the 
Chicago  Industrial  School,  where  she  remained  until  an  aunt  took  her  to  live 
with  her.  When  H.  was  taken  ill,  her  aunt  did  not  wish  to  care  for  her  longer, 
and  caused  her  to  be  sent  to  Oak  Forest.  She  is  a  bright  child,  but  there  are 
no  associates  besides  elderly  women.  An  effort  is  being  made  to  place  this  child 
where  she  can  become  self-supporting. 

A.  was  born  in  New  York  City,  April  21,  1889.  After  her  mother's  death 
in  1889,  A.  and  her  brother,  W.,  were  taken  to  an  orphan  asylum  by  their  father. 
After  staying  there  but  a  few  months,  W.  went  to  stay  with  some  relatives  in 
New  York,  and  A.,  with  ten  other  children,  was  brought  to  Chicago.  She  states 
they  were  taken  to  a  children's  home  where  she  remained  until  she  was  sent  to 
a  family  in  Iowa.  She  lived  there  two  years.  When  this  family  moved  to 
Oklahoma,  A.  was  brought  back  to  Chicago.  Upon  returning  to  Chicago,  she 
claims  she  stayed  at  the  Salvation  Army  Home  near  Lincoln  Park.  While  here, 
she  was  assaulted  by  a  man  and  the  case  was  tried  before  the  Grand  Jury.  Her 
brother  came  to  Chicago  and  took  her  to  Iowa.  In  1909  she  married  B.  C.  They 
lived  together  four  years  and  a  child  was  born  soon  after  their  marriage.  On 
account  of  very  unpleasant  relations  with  her  mother-in-law,  A.  left  her  hus- 
band, and  the  child  was  sent  to  the  children's  home  in  Des  Moines.  A.  was 
taken  sick  and  sent  to  the  Poor  Farm  in  Iowa.  She  states  that  a  Mexican,  X. 
K.,  took  her  out  of  the  home  and  they  were  married  September  7,  1913,  but 
he  forced  her  to  live  an  immoral  life  and  she  left  him,  coming  to  Chicago.  A. 
went  to  the  Count"  Doctor,  and  he,  thinking  her  pregnant,  sent  her  to  the 
County   Hospital   in   Chicago,   and  from  there   she  was   sent  to   Oak  Forest. 

B.  D.,  born  in  Indiana  in  1860,  was  a  simple-hearted  American  girl,  who 
came  to  Chicago  in  1874,  and  did  general  housew'ork.  In  1910  she  married 
E.  W.,  and  spent  her  savings  on  physicians'  services  for  him.  He  developed 
insanity  and  died  in  1912,  just  as  plans  were  under  way  to  remove  him  to  the 
State  Hospital  for  the  Insane.  Since  his  death,  she  has  been  ill  and  is  at  present 
confined  to  her  bed  with  small  hope  of  her  recovery.  She  seems  an  old  woman 
with  her  life  lived  out  at  the  age  of  fifty-four. 

The  Tuberculosis  Hospital 

This  hos])ital  is  located  on  the  County  Farm  at  Oak 
Forest,  but  entirely  detached  from  the  Infirmary,  both  i)hy- 
sically  and  in  management,  except  that  the  superintendent 
of  Oak  Forest  is  superintendent  of  both  institutions. 

The  main  buildino-  of  the  hospital  contains  administra- 
tive offices,  pliysicians'  offices,  wards  for  the  advanced  |)a- 
tients  and  private  rooms  for  the  dying  patients.  The  build- 
ing is  provided  with  sun  parlors  and  porches  and  is  entirely 
modern. 

Adjacent  to  this  main  building  is  the  general  dining  hall 
located  on  a  rise  of  ground  extending  north  and  south  with 
an  east  vie^v  over  miles  of  farm  lands,  hills  and  woods.  The 
first  floor  of  this  building  is  devoted  to  the  kitchens,  store 
rooms,  refrigerators ;  the  second  floor  to  the  refectory.  The 
building  is  equally  attractive  av ithout  and  within,  the  entire 


34 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY  35 

construction  being-  economical,  but  in  good  taste  as  to  lines, 
selection  of  colors  for  decoration  and  utilization  of  every 
detail. 

South  of  the  dining  hall,  flanked  by  cherry  trees  and 
maples,  are  six  open  air  cottages  which  accommodate  20 
adult  patients  each.  These  cottages  are  of  attractive  design 
with  the  long  apex  extending  east  and  west.  The  sleeping 
quarters  are  in  two  wings,  the  north  side  having  a  window 
for  each  patient,  and  the  entire  south  side  open  to  the  air 
but  protected  by  canvas  curtains.  In  the  center  of  each 
cottage  is  an  enclosed  room  with  a  cheery  fire  place,  library 
table,  and  books  and  games  for  entertainment.  Back  of 
this  central  room  are  the  toilet,  bath  and  locker  rooms. 
These  rooms  are  heated  and  provide  in  the  coldest  weather 
for  comfort  while  dressing  and  undressing  and  during  rec- 
reation periods.  There  are  two  cottages  of  similar  con- 
struction at  the  foot  of  the  hill  devoted  to  the  exclusive  use 
of  the  children,  thereby  separating  the  children  from  the 
adult  population.    An  open-air  school  is  located  nearby. 

There  are  still  in  use  about  80  tents  which  will  gradually 
be  abandoned  as  they  become  unusable,  the  open-air  cottage 
having  proven  better  adapted  to  the  treatment  of  Tubercu- 
losis. 

The  chief  aim  of  the  Oak  Forest  Tuberculosis  Hospital 
is  to  ' '  cure  the  patient  and  return  him  to  normal  life. ' '  The 
entire  life  of  the  men,  women  and  children  is  therefore  or- 
dered with  this  in  view.  A  hospital  regime  is  maintained. 
The  patients '  diet,  rest,  recreation  and  work  hours  are  regu- 
lated according  to  his  physical  strength.  Every  effort  is 
put  forth  to  induce  the  patients  to  become  partners  with  the 
hospital  in  this  effort  to  cure  them.  Visits  to  the  city  which 
result  in  fatigue  hostile  to  their  recovery  are  therefore  dis- 
couraged. 

A  system  of  careful  examination  has  been  inaugurated ; 
a  record  of  each  patient  is  kept,  showing  the  physical  find- 
ings, the  results  of  the  laboratory  tests  of  sputum,  blood  and 
urine,  statement  of  his  social  state,  history  of  his  disease, 
his  response  to  treatment,  and  other  significant  facts. 

The  staff  for  the  Tuberculosis  Hospital  includes :  a  busi- 
ness manager,  one  director  and  one  assistant  director  of 
nurses,  three  senior  and  six  junior  physicians,  and  a  teacher 
for  the  children  who  are  able  to  attend  the  open  air  school. 


36 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY  37 

Many  hopeful  cases  have  been  discharged  from  the 
Tuberculosis  Hospital  at  Oak  Forest. 

A  patient  tells  the  following : 

"When  I  reached  the  railroad  track  in  front  of  the  hos- 
pital, I  did  not  know  which  way  to  go.  I  thou^i'ht  I  could 
live  only  a  few  weeks,  probably  two  or  three.  The  future 
was  hopeless.  It  did  not  make  any  difference,  for  this  was 
the  end.  A  little  later,  I  thought  I  might  live  six  weeks. 
Then  when  I  was  in  the  fresh-air  ward,  I  extended  the  time 
to  three  months,  and  see  me  now.  I  am  ready  to  go  out 
an  arrested  case." 

Another : 

"You  made  me  take  the  cure  against  my  will;  my  life 
was  saved  the  morning  I  was  pulled  out  from  Ijehind  the 
radiator  and  put  out  in  a  chair.  See  me  now.  I  have  a  job ; 
I  am  going  to  make  my  wa}^,  but  I  am  coming  back  to  let 
you  know  how  I  am  getting  along. ' ' 

Summer  Outings 

Attention  has  been  called  to  the  fact  that  the  daily 
population  of  the  Oak  Forest  Infirmary  is  much  larger  in 
the  Winter  than  in  the  Summer.  It  is  possible  for  many 
aged  or  infirm  persons  either  to  care  for  themselves  in  the 
Summertime,  or  to  find  support  with  relatives  when  fuel 
is  not  needed  and  lighter  food  will  prove  adequate  than  in 
the  Winter.  The  unoccupied  space  at  the  Oak  Forest  In- 
firmary has  been  utilized  during  the  Summers  of  1913  and 
1914  to  give  Summer  outings  to  women  with  children  who 
are  usually  in  receipt  of  outdoor  relief  from  the  office  of  the 
County  Agent.  For  1914,  an  appropriation  of  $2,500  was 
made  for  salaries  of  those  in  charge  of  this  outing  camp  and 
for  incidental  expenses.  The  general  cost  of  maintenance  is 
borne  from  the  regular  institution  funds.  During  the  night 
these  women  and  children  sleep  in  those  portions  of  the  in- 
firmary which  would  otherwise  be  vacant  at  that  time  of 
year.  They  eat  in  the  general  dining  room  at  a  time  when 
the  patients  are  not  being  served,  and  portions  of  the 
grounds  not  frequented  by  inmates  of  the  institution  are 
likewise  set  apart  for  their  play  and  recreation.  For  their 
care,  their  guidance  in  recreation  and  amusement,  and  for 
their  instruction,  persons  are  employed  who  are  trained  in 
the  direction  of  supervising  the  play  of  older  and  of  little 


38 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY  39 

children  and  of  counseling  the  women.  As  has  been  said, 
this  opportunity  for  outing  is  limited  to  those  families  who 
are  the  recipients  of  the  outdoor  relief  from  the  County 
Agent.  Should  the  experiment  finally  justify  itself,  un- 
doubtedly further  provision  of  a  more  suitable  and  ai^pro- 
priate  kind  will  be  made. 

County  Hospital 

The  County  Hospital  is  the  second  largest  hospital  in 
the  world.  It  is  a  general  hospital,  including  departments 
of  surger}^,  medicine,  obstetrics,  gynecology,  nervous  and 
mental  diseases,  children's  diseases,  tuberculosis,  diseases  of 
the  eye,  ear,  nose  and  throat,  skin  and  venereal  diseases, 
contagious  diseases,  orthopedic  surgery,  pathology  and  path- 
ological chemistry. 

27,887  persons,  having  an  acute  illness,  (an  average 
daily  j)opulation  of  from  1,300  to  1,700  men,  w^omen  and 
children)  were  admitted  to  the  County  Hospital  as  patients 
during  1913  and  21,281  out-patients  with  minor  injuries  not 
serious  enough  to  require  hospital  care  were  given  attention 
in  the  dressing  room.  The  total  cost  of  running  the  hospital 
for  1913  was  $1-59,059.37,  which  averages  $1.31  per  capita 
per  day.  Many  improvements  in  the  old  structure  have  been 
effected.  The  laundr}^  of  the  hospital,  formerly  inadequate, 
unclean  and  insanitary,  was  enlarged  a  year  ago  and  con- 
ditions were  much  improved.  Necessary  fire  doors,  fire  drills 
and  additional  fire  guards  have  been  provided,  lessening- 
danger  from  fire. 

The  chief  executive  officers  of  the  hospital  are  a  warden, 
two  assistant  wardens  and  a  superintendent  of  nurses. 
There  is  also  a  consulting  staff  of  22  ph3^sicians  and  an  at- 
tending staff  of  78  physicians ;  60  internes ;  and  nearly  300 
nurses  supplied  on  yearly  contract  by  the  Illinois  Training 
School,  a  volunteer  body  of  public  spirited  women,  who  for 
thirty-four  years  have  supervised  the  training  of  nurses  and 
supplied  skilled  service  to  the  sick  and  poor  of  Cook  County. 

The  present  medical  staff,  secured  through  Civil  Service 
examinations,  is  said  to  be  superior  to  that  of  any  private 
hospital  in  Chicago.  The  efBciency  of  the  medical  work  has 
been  greatly  increased  by  newly  prescribed  hours  and  stand- 
ards of  service ;  by  a  system  of  measuring  and  recording  the 
service  rendered  by  each  chief  physician  and  his  assistants ; 


40 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY  41 

and  by  holding  each  chief  responsible  for  the  work  of  his 
entire  dejDartment. 

The  efficacy  of  treatment  and  rapidity  ^Yith  which  a 
cure  may  be  effected,  depends  in  part  on  the  mental  condi- 
tion of  the  patient.  If  a  father  is  disturbed  because  the  ill- 
ness or  injury  from  which  he  suffers  deprives  his  wife  and 
children  of  their  usual  support,  or  a  mother  fears  the  neglect 
and  suffering  of  her  little  children  due  to  her  absence,  or  a 
young  man  knows  his  mother  is  in  want,  or  an  old  person 
frets  from  the  lack  of  some  accustomed  presence,  if  the 
stranger  who  understands  no  English  is  both  frightened  and 
confused  by  the  strange  conditions  which  no  one  explains, 
as  well  as  oppressed  by  an  overwhelming  loneliness,  the  most 
skilled  i^hysician  will  fail  and  the  most  ef&cacious  medicine 
prove  of  no  service.  Furthermore,  an  effectual  cure  may 
prove  very  transitory  if  a  patient  goes  back  into  the  very 
conditions  which  gave  rise  to  the  earlier  illness.  In  large 
numbers  of  cases,  to  render  service  given  at  such  cost  in  the 
hospital  of  permanent  value,  other  forms  of  aid  must  be 
available  for  the  patient  on  leaving.  Sometimes  it  means 
finding  temporary  emplo;sanent  of  a  lighter  kind,  making 
provision  for  the  young  mother  so  that  she  can  care  decently 
for  the  baby  born  in  the  hospital,  finding  the  way  to  aid  and 
sustain  the  girl  whose  wretchedness  has  led'  to  an  attempt  at 
suicide.  The  recognition  of  the  wastefulness  of  leaving  un- 
done these  services  without  which  the  others  seem  so  much 
less  effectual  is  being  more  and  more  recognized.  The  Illi- 
nois Training  School  has  therefore  maintained  a  Social 
Service  Department,  through  which  such  assistance  as  has 
been  described  is  offered  to  the  patients  in  the  hospital  and 
to  those  leaving.  Special  provision  for  this  department  is 
included  in  the  contract  between  the  Count.y  and  the  Train- 
ing School. 

County  Psychopathic  Hospital 

The  new  Psychopathic  Hospital  associated  with,  but 
detached  from  County  Hospital,  was  completed  in  June, 
1914,  and  supplanted  the  Detention  Hospital. 

It  is  a  brick  building  of  pleasing  appearance  with  am^Dle 
porch  space,  adequate  in  the  numl)er  of  beds,  and  so  planned 
as  to  permit  of  unlimited  expansion.  It  is  fireproof  through- 
out with  the  necessary  window  bars  hidden  in  the  glass,  so 


42 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY  43 

that  it  presents  the  appearance  of  an  ordinary  hospital.  This 
hospital  was  built  in  record-breaking  time,  ground  being 
broken  in  September,  1913,  and  patients  admitted  in  June, 
1914.  It  was  built  at  a  cost  of  $2,160  per  bed,  which  con- 
sidering the  large  number  of  private  rooms  and  the  expen- 
sive apparatus  for  hydro-therapeutic  treatment,  is  a  remark- 
ably low  rate  per  bed. 

The  hospital  is  designed  for  the  temporary  care  of  the 
mentally  ill  of  Cook  County  who  are  held  under  observation 
jDending  the  trial  which  the  State  Insane  Law  unfortunately 
makes  necessary  before  commitment.  Its  erection  gives  op- 
portunity, never  before  given  in  the  county,  for  the  scien- 
tific treatment  of  persons  suffering  from  mental  disorders. 
The  hospital  is  equipped  with  all  the  apparatus  which  can 
mJtigate  the  condition  of  these  unfortunate  patients.  One 
commendable  feature  is  that  the  hydro-therapy  apparatus, 
consisting  of  baths,  sprays,  douches  and  showers,  w^hich  not 
infrequently  in  even  first-class  hospitals  is  placed  in  the 
basement  to  the  detriment  of  patients,  is  installed  on  the 
fifth  floor,  so  that  pleasant  surroundings,  light,  air  and  sun- 
shine make  their  contribution  to  the  treatment.  Another 
feature  which  adds  greatly  to  the  patients'  comfort  is  the 
installation  on  every  floor  of  tubs  for  the  prolonged  baths 
given  "disturl3ed  patients."  With  these  baths  accessible 
to  every  Avard,  the  problem  of  controlling  violent  cases  is 
practically  solved.  Violent  patients  remain  quiet  for  hours 
under  their  soothing  influence,  and  the  baths  thus  take  the 
place  to  some  extent  of  sedatives  and  restraints. 

2,477  patients  were  cared  for  during  1913,  787  of  whom 
were  from  10  to  30  years  of  age  and  1,230  from  30  to  50 
years  of  age.  There  is  an  out-patient  department  located 
in  the  hospital  for  dispensary  work  with  these  mental  cases, 
and  there,  is  also  a  social  service  department  for  the  pre- 
commitment  or  dismissed  cases. 

Social  Service  Investigators  in  Cases  of  Alleged  Insanity 

The  determination  of  a  person's  sanity  is  reached  after 
a  trial  before  the  County  Court.  Tlie  Court's  decision  is 
based  upon  the  conduct  of  the  individual  and  the  social  and 
economic  circumstances  of  the  case.  These  facts  are  es- 
sential to  a  proper  decision  and  often  are  the  deciding  factor 
for  prescribing  forms  of  treatment  which  may  be  secured 


44  A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 

tlirougli  co-operating  agencies.  The  mental  disturbance  may 
be  incipient  and  yield  to  the  brief  period  of  rest  under  ob- 
servation in  the  Psychopathic  Hospital,  or  may  be  caused 
by  some  conditions  of  poverty,  domestic  mal-adjustment, 
wrong  conditions  of  employment  or  other  circumstances 
which  can  possibly  be  so  altered  as  to  remove  all  necessity 
of  commitment  of  the  individual  to  a  Hospital  for  the  In- 
sane. If  such  is  the  result  of  the  inquiry,  it  means  economy 
for  the  taxpayers  of  the  county,  and  it  also  means  the  pre- 
vention of  incalculable  misery  on  the  part  of  the  patient 
and  humiliation  and  suffering  on  the  part  of  his  relatives. 
The  County  Court,  therefore,  avails  itself  of  investigators, 
trained  nurses  and  social  workers  who  can  obtain  and  pre- 
sent to  the  court  these  essential  facts.  For  the  social  in- 
vestigators thus  connected  with  the  County  Court  in  1914 
$11,000  was  appropriated. 


Support  Department  of  County  Court 

The  obligation  placed  by  the  pauper  act  on  relatives 
to  support  their  kin  is  enforced  by  the  State's  Attorney  by 
action  brought  in  the  County  Court.  Before  bringing  ac- 
tion, the  State 's  Attorney  must  convince  himself  that  the 
relatives  are  really  able  to  render  the  support  or  at  least 
to  make  a  contribution.  Frequently  appeal  to  the  county 
is  made  only  after  all  resources  have  been  exhausted,  and 
the  relatives  of  the  destitute,  while  not  destitute,  may  be 
very  near  the  poverty  line.  And  as  it  would  be  wasteful  to 
require  contributions  from  one  to  the  support  of  another 
which  would  render  the  contributor  likely  to  become  de- 
pendent, the  court  has  been  authorized  to  use  investigators 
to  secure  the  data  necessary  for  really  intelligent  decisions. 
Frequently  it  is  possible  to  secure  the  payments  without 
court  action,  and  often  the  payments  are  made  under  order 
of  the  court  to  the  Clerk  of  the  Court  and  distributed  through 
the  State's  Attorney's  office. 

In  1913,  there  were  922  suits  commenced  and  tried,  in- 
volving 3,827  persons,  and  $91,286.00  was  collected  by  the 
Clerk  ot  the  County  Court  and  paid  over  to  the  beneficiaries. 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY  45 

V 

Bureau  of  Public  Welfare 

The  purpose  of  all  the  expenditure  of  money,  strength 
and  skill  in  the  charity  service  is  that  the  misery  of  the  com- 
munity may  be  lessened,  the  health  of  the  public  safe- 
guarded, the  earning  capacity  of  the  able-bodied  conserved. 
if  the  spirit  of  the  law  is  olDserved,  it  means  the  gradual 
development  of  a  charity  service  able  to  render  the  aid 
offered  in  such  a  constructive  and  intelligent  manner  as  to 
make  it  really  effectual  and,  so  far  as  possible,  preventive 
of  needless  poverty,  sickness  and  wretchedness.  Even  with 
the  service  as  it  has  developed,  the  foot  ball  often  of  political 
parties,  the  plaything  for  political  ends,  there  is  in  the  or- 
dinary performance  of  duty  an  enormous  amount  of  simple, 
humble,  unrecognized  devotion  and  kindness.  The  attend- 
ants at  the  Infirmary,  the  nurses  in  the  hospital,  the  other 
members  of  staff,  give  not  only  the  service  for  which  they 
are  paid,  often  most  inadequately,  but  genuine  human  sym- 
pathy.' But  their  duties  often  become  a  routine  matter,  and 
when  hundreds  are  cared  for  it  is  difficult  to  remember  al- 
ways that  each  has  his  own  problem  of  misery  and  need. 
Often  the  patient  is  reluctant  to  confide  in  the  attendant  or 
nurse  with  whom  he  comes  in  frequent  contact.  The  neces- 
sity of  devising  ways  of  discovery  when  these  special  serv- 
ices should  be  offered  has,  therefore,  been  apparent  to  many 
who  are  concerned  with  the  more  efficient  administration 
of  the  County  Charity  Service. 

Moreover,  the  same  necessity  which  has  arisen  in  the 
County  Hospital  and  in  the  County  Court  for  supplementing 
the  ordinary  machinery  of  the  institution  by  the  creation 
of  a  Social  Service  Department  has  been  recognized  in  con- 
nection with  Oak  Forest,  the  Jail  and  various  institutions 
for  children.  Therefore,  in  1914  the  Bureau  of  Public  Wel- 
fare was  created  to  render  such  services  as  these  in  connec- 
tion with  the  institutions  named. 

There  is  a  Director  of  the  Bureau,  two  Welfare  Work- 
ers in  service  at  Oak  Forest,  two  at  the  County  Jail,  and 
two  in  connection  with  the  institutions  to  which  children 
are  committed  by  the  Juvenile  Court.  In  the  first  six 
months  after  the  organization  of  the  Bureau,  711  cases  were 
handled  of  which  808  were  at  Oak  Forest,  288  at  the  jail 
and  168  in  connection  with  the  children's  institutions. 

The  circumstances  of  180  patients  at  Oak  Forest  have 


46  A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 

been  inquired  into  minutely,  resulting  in  24  per  cent  of 
these  patients  being  returned  to  normal  life  or  removed  to 
hospitals  for  treatment  of  their  ailments  or  placed  in  special 
institutions  more  suited  to  their  needs.  Thus  Oak  Forest 
has  been  relieved  of  their  care,  the  patients  have  been  given 
the  chance  of  normal  living  and  recovery,  and,  merely  as 
a  byproduct.  Cook  County  has  been  saved  an  annual  ex- 
penditure of  $6,336.  At  the  suggestion  of  the  Bureau,  the 
County  Board  has  appointed  a  psychologist  to  examine  into 
the  mental  condition  of  all  patients  who  appear  to  be  in- 
advisably  held  in  the  Infirmary.  A  statement  has  been  pre- 
pared of  the  condition  of  78  blind  inmates  of  the  Infirmary, 
and  submitted  to  a  leading  oculist,  who  wdll  make  examina- 
tions in  all  cases  where  the  patient  desires  it. 

Not  only  the  circumstances  incident  to  crimes  com- 
mitted by  238  boys  have  been  reviewed  by  the  two  workers 
assigned  to  the  jail,  but  an  inquiry  has  been  made  into  the 
boys'  home  surroundings,  work  record  and  previous  court 
records,  if  any,  to  determine  what  kind  of  boys  they  are. 
These  findings  are  submitted  to  the  judge  at  the  time  of  the 
boy's  trial,  and  furnish  a  basis  for  his  decision,  and  often 
prevent  injustice.  The  work  has  resulted  in  many  boys 
profiting  by  an  early  hearing  of  their  cases,  a  mitigation  of 
sentence,  a  commitment  to  Pontiac  rather  than  the  House 
of  Correction,  return  to  parents  in  other  states,  or  trial  on 
probation. 

The  parents  and  relatives  of  165  children  who  are  sup- 
ported by  the  county  in  orphanages  have  been  searched  out, 
and  a  re-examination  of  the  circumstances  of  these  families 
instituted.  As  a  result  some  children  are  living  now  in 
normal  homes,  and  others  who  were  formerly  dependent 
upon  the  county  have  been  given  a  greater  sense  of  inde- 
pendence, their  board  now  being  paid  out  of  their  rightful 
heritages.  Eighteen  per  cent  of  these  children  have  been 
removed  from  County  support,  and  other  cases  are  now 
being  investigated,  with  a  probable  total  annual  saving  to 
the  county  of  $6,610.  This,  however,  is  a  result  and  not  the 
purpose  of  the  work.  The  Bureau  is  doing  much  to  hu- 
manize the  charity  service. 

For  the  members  of  the  investigating  staff  and  the 
necessary  clerical  aid  there  was  appropriated  (for  9  months) 
for  1914,  the  sum  of  $8,325. 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY  47 


Courts  of  Cook  County 

Tlie  judicial  system  of  Illinois  is  elaborately  regulated 
both  by  the  Constitution  (Sections  III  and  IV)  and  by 
statute  (Illinois  Revised  Statutes,  Chapter  37).  Cook 
County  has  a  County  Court  the  same  as  other  counties,  but 
instead  of  a  Circuit  Court,  it  has  three  courts,  i.e.,  the  Cir- 
cuit, the  Superior  and  the  Criminal  Court.  In  counties  hav- 
ing a  poi^ulation  of  over  50,000  the  constitution  allows  the 
establishment  of  a  separate  Probate  Court,  and  the  legisla- 
ture has  provided  for  the  creation  of  a  Probate  Court  in 
Cook  County. 

The  County  Court  hears  cases  for  the  collection  of 
taxes,  and  is  given  a  number  of  special  functions  by  statute, 
such  as  passing  upon  questions  of  alleged  insanity,  and  the 
judge  of  the  court  has  important  duties  in  connection  with 
the  election  machinery. 

The  Circuit  and  Superior  Courts  have  concurrent  juris- 
diction; that  is,  the  majority  of  cases  which  can  be  brought 
in  one  could  be  brought  as  well  in  the  other.  Each  has  the 
same  work  as  a  Circuit  Court  in  another  county  with  the 
exception  of  the  criminal  work.  Their  judges  must  have 
the  same  qualifications  as  the  Circuit  Court  judges  in  other 
counties ;  that  is,  they  must  be  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
25  years  of  age,  who  are  residents  of  the  county  and  have 
lived  in  the  state  five  years. 

The  Criminal  Court,  whose  work  is  indicated  by  its 
name,  is  held  by  judges  of  the  Circuit  and  Superior  Courts 
assigned  for  the  criminal  work.  The  judges  of  the  Circuit 
Court  annually  select  one  of  their  number  to  serve  as  judge 
of  the  Juvenile  Court. 

The  Probate  Court  has  charge  and  control  of  the  estates 
or  property  of  deceased  and  insane  persons  and  of  minors. 

The  County  Judge  is  elected  on  the  Tuesday  after  the 
first  Monday  in  November  every  four  years,  beginning  1882, 
e.g.,  1914  and  1918.  The  term  begins  on  the  first  Monday 
in  December  after  the  election.  There  are  now  fourteen 
judges  of  the  Circuit  Court  elected  at  the  same  time  as  the 
other  Circuit  Court  judges,  that  is,  the  first  Monday  of  June 


48  A  STUDY  OP  COOK  COUNTY 

every  six  years  beginning  1883,  e.g.,  1915  and  1921.  An  act 
of  the  General  Assembly  passed  in  1911  governs  future 
elections  of  judges  of  tlie  Superior  Court.  There  ^Yill  be  one 
judge  elected  on  the  first  Monday  in  June  every  six  years, 
beginning  1915 ;  six  on  the  first  Monday  in  June  every  six 
.years,  beginning  1916;  four  on  the  Tuesday  after  the  first 
Monday  in  November  every  six  years,  beginning  1911 ;  one 
on  the  first  Tuesday  in  April  every  six  years,  beginning  1913. 
Each  of  these  twelve  judges  takes  office  on  the  first  Monday 
in  the  December  after  his  election.  The  other  six  judges 
are  elected  on  the  Tuesday  after  the  first  Monday  in  Novem- 
ber every  six  years,  beginning  1911,  and  take  office  as  soon 
after  election  as  they  can  qualify.  The  judge  of  the  Probate 
Court  is  elected  on  the  first  Monda}^  in  November  every 
four  years,  beginning  1882,  e.g.,  1914  and  1918.  The  term 
of  office  begins  on  the  first  Monday  in  December  next  after 
election. 

The  Judge  of  the  County  Court  receives  from  the 
County  a  salary  fixed  by  law  at  $10,000.  Judges  of  all  the 
Circuit  Courts  in  Illinois  receive  their  salary  from  the  State 
Treasury,  but  the  constitution  provides  that  an  additional 
compensation  may  be  allowed  the  judges  of  Cook  County 
Circuit  and  Superior  Courts  by  law,  to  be  paid  from  the 
treasury  of  Cook  County.  The  judge  of  the  Probate  Court 
receives  from  the  County  a  salarv  fixed  bv  Statute  at 
$10,000. 

Judges  of  the  County  and  Probate  Courts  are  elected  at 
the  same  time  as  the  County  Clerk  and  members  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembh^  in  the  elections  between  the  elections  of  Gov- 
ernor. Because  of  the  time  of  the  election,  the  choice  of  the 
Probate  Judge,  of  the  County  Judge  and  of  the  County 
Clerk,  is  apt  to  be  unduly  influenced  by  party  politics. 

The  Clerks  of  the  Courts 

The  administrative  functions  of  each  court  are  dis- 
charged through  its  Clerk.  He  receives  and  files  all  docu- 
ments or  papers  in  any  suit  or  proceeding,  makes  and  pre- 
serves complete  records  of  the  proceedings,  determines  the 
costs  and  makes  up  and  certifies  copies  and  transcripts  of 
such  records.  He  also  issues  processes  of  the  court,  approves 
bonds,  administers  oaths,  draws  jurors  and  certifies  the 
names  drawn  to  the  Sheriff,  issues  juror's  certificates,  col- 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY  49 

lects  fees  and  keeps  and  pays  out  moneys  deposited  with 
him. 

The  Clerks  of  the  Circuit,  Superior,  Criminal  and  Pro- 
bate Courts  are  elected  for  a  four  ^^ears'  term.  Each  re- 
ceives $9,000  a  year,  the  salary  having  been  raised  from 
$5,000  in  1909.  In  1914  the  four  ofQces  had  183  employes, 
the  majority  being  clerks  of  different  sorts,  typists,  stenog- 
raphers and  record  writers.  Of  these,  52  Avere  in  the  office 
of  the  Clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court,  41  in  that  of  the  Clerk  of 
the  Superior  Court,  35  in  that  of  the  Clerk  of  the  Criminal 
Court  and  55  in  that  of  the  Clerk  of  the  Probate  Court.  The 
total  salary  appropriation  for  the  four  offices  for  1914  was 
$300,243.30  and  the  appropriation  for  expenses  brought  the 
total  budget  up  to  $311,243.30. 

The  Adult  Probation  Department 

The  establishment  of  the  Adult  Probation  Department 
grew  out  of  the  following  circumstances :  The  administra- 
tion of  justice  had  i:)roven  so  unsatisfactory  in  a  certain  type 
of  criminal  cases  that  in  1911  the  judges  of  the  Criminal  and 
Municipal  Courts  were  authorized  by  the  Adult  Probation 
Law,^  to  use  the  modern  method  of  probation  in  the  case  of 
first  offenders  convicted  of  certain  specified  offenses,  where 
treatment  after  this  method  seemed  in  accord  with  the  in- 
terests of  society  and  where  reformation  seemed  reasonabl.y 
certain. 

The  offenses  specified  by  the  act  are  (1)  violation  of 
municipal  ordinances  where  the  offense  is  likewise  a  viola- 
tion of  a  statute;  (2)  obtaining,  under  false  pretenses, 
money  not  greater  in  amount  than  $200;  (3)  attempting  to 
commit  or  committing  burglary  in  a  place  other  than  a  busi- 
ness house  or  habitation ;  (4)  committing  larceny,  embezzle- 
ment or  malicious  mischief  where  the  amount  involved  is 
not  greater  than  $200;  (5)  all  misdemeanors  not  otherwise 
limited  in  the  act.  Persons  convicted  for  the  first  time  of 
any  of  these  offenses  are  released  on  probation,  some  for 
six  months,  some  for  a  year. 

The  department  consists  of  a  chief  probation  officer, 
whose  salary  is  $3,000  a  year,  and  20  probation  officers. 
These  officers  are  appointed  by  the  judges  of  the  Circuit 

1.     Illinois   Revised   Statutes,   chapter   38,   p.    500a-q. 


50  A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 

Court  and  of  the  Municipal  Court,  sitting  jointly,  and  act 
under  rules  formulated  by  a  committee  appointed  by  these 
judges.  The  probation  officers  must  be  at  least  25  years 
of  age  and  trained  in  skillful  investigation.  It  is  the  duty 
of  the  officers  (1)  to  assist  the  judge  in  deciding  whether 
or  not  he  will  take  this  action  by  making  the  necessary  in- 
vestigation and  reporting  to  the  judge  in  writing  (a)  the 
habits  and  previous  conduct  of  the  accused ;  (b)  the  number 
and  age  of  his  dependents,  and,  (c)  all  other  facts  which 
will  enable  the  judge  to  arrive  at  a  wise  decision  in  the  case : 
(2)  to  watch  over  the  persons  committed  to  their  supervis- 
ion and  guardianship,  requiring  monthly  reports  of  them, 
not  allowing  them  to  leave  the  state  without  court  permis- 
sion, co-operating  with  all  the  agencies  in  the  community 
for  their  protection  and  upbuilding,  and  doing  all  in  their 
power  to  restore  them  to  the  community  as  law-abiding 
persons. 

During  the  year  ending  September  1st,  1913,  352  per- 
sons were  admitted  to  probation  by  the  judges  of  the  Crimi- 
nal Court,  and  2,522  by  the  judges  of  the  Municipal  Court, 
688  of  the  latter  number  being  admitted  to  probation  by  the 
judge  of  the  Court  of  Domestic  delations. 

The  cost  of  maintaining  the  department  is  shared  by 
the  Countv  and  the  City  of  Chicago.  The  amount  appro- 
priated by  the  County  for  1914  was  $15,080  of  which  $14,380 
was  for  salaries. 

The  Juvenile  Court 

The  Juvenile  Court  should  be  considered  from  two 
points  of  view.  In  so  far  as  it  handles  delinquent  children, 
it  is  a  branch  of  the  Circuit  Court,  which  decides  only  ques- 
tions involving  the  interests  of  young  persons.  In  these 
cases  the  judge,  elected  as  a  Circuit  Court  judge  and  assigned 
annually  to  service  in  the  Juvenile  Court  by  the  group  of 
which  he  is  a  member,  exercises  a  strictly  judicial  function 
under  the  provisions  of  the  Juvenile  Court  Law.^  While  he 
treats  the  offenders  who  are  brought  before  him  rather  as 
offending  children  than  as  youthful  criminals,  there  is  a 
clear  connection  between  the  function  he  exercises  and  the 
functions  exercised  by  Criminal  Court  judges  and  Circuit 


'Illinois  Revised  Statutes,  Chapter  23,  p.  169. 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY  51 

Court  judges  in  other  jurisdictions.  In  so  far  as  lie  handles 
the  cases  of  those  children  designated  by  the  law  as  "de- 
pendent and  neglected, ' '  his  function  is  not  so  simple.  When 
the  parents  are  sober  and  decent,  but  too  poor  to  care  prop- 
erly for  their  children,  the  problem  is  purely  one  of  se- 
curing aid,  either  in  their  own  homes  (Funds  to  Parents) 
or  in  institutions,  as  seems  best.  AVlieu  neglect  is  found,  as 
in  cases  where  there  is  degradation,  drunkenness  or  im- 
morality, the  decision  is  again  a  judicial  function,  and  the 
children  are  removed  from  the  custody  of  the  parents  and 
committed  to  institutions  as  a  measure  of  discipline  and 
precaution. 

During  the  year  1913,  4,695  children  came  before  the 
Court.  Of  this  number  1,955  were  delinquent  (1,363  boys 
and  592  girls),  2,111  were  dependent  (1,089  boys  and  1,022 
girls)  and  629  w^ere  children  of  families  aided  under  the 
Funds  to  Parents  Act.  Their  cases  were  disposed  of  as 
follows :  685  delinquent  children  (468  boys  and  217  girls) 
and  1,200  dependent  children  (690  boys  and  510  girls)  were 
committed  to  institutions;^  979  delinq.uent  children  (689 
boys  and  290  girls)  and  1,307  dependent  children  (615  boys 
and  692  girls)  were  placed  on  probation,  under  the  Juvenile 
Court  law  or  under  the  Funds  to  Parents  Act ;  299  were  dis- 
missed; 172  were  placed  in  farm  or  city  homes;  27  were 
referred  to  the  County  Agent;  20  were  assigned  to  miscel- 
laneous Orders ;  and  6  were  bound  over  to  the  Grand  Jury. 
The  table  on  page  54  shows  the  distribution  of  the  children 
among  the  institutions  to  which  the  Juvenile  Court  commits 
delinquent  and  dependent  children. 

In  addition  to  dependent  and  delinquent  children,  those 
found  to  be  habitual  truants  or  incorrigible  in  school  are 
brought  before  the  Juvenile  Court  to  be  committed  to  the 
Chicago  Parental  School.  This  work  is  done  as  an  aid  to 
the  educational  authorities,  and  need  not  be  described  here. 

Because  the  judge  performs  duties  both  purely  judicial 
and  of  an  administrative  character,  he  needs  a  large  staff 
of  assistants  of  varied  capacity.  For  1914,  the  County  main- 
tained a  staff  of  79  probation  officers,  and  the  City  assigned 
35  police  probation  officers  to  service  in  the  court.  The  Chief 


1  To  such  of  these  as  are  organized  under  the  Industrial  School  Act  or  under  the 
Manual  Training  School  Act  the  county  paj's  $15  a  month  for  each  girl's  case  and  $10  a 
month  for  each  boy.  The  appropriation  for  these  payments  for  1914  was  $180,000.  The 
others  receive  no  compensation,  but  must  have  been  approved  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
State  Board   of  Administration. 


52  A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 

Probation  officer  received  a  salary  of  $300  a  month,  and  Ms 
assistants  salaries  ranging  from  $90  to  $150  a  month.  The 
total  salary  appropriation  by  the  County  for  the  Probation 
Service  of  the  Juvenile  Court  for  1914  Avas  $129,280. 

Funds  to  Parents 

A  new  form  of  relief  is  that  granted  by  the  Juvenile 
Court  under  the  so-called  "Funds  to  Parents"  law  and  ad- 
ministered jointly  by  the  Court  and  the  County  Agent. 

These  ''funds"  are  granted  by  the  Juvenile  Court  after 
full  investigation  by  the  Funds  to  Parents'  Department  of 
the  Court  and  by  the  County  Agent,  to  indigent  mothers, 
with  children  under  fourteen  j^ears  of  age,  whose  husbands 
are  dead  or  totalh^  incapacitated  for  work.  The  recipients 
must  be  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  have  resided  in 
the  County  for  at  least  three  years.  The  mother  must,  how- 
ever, in  the  judgment  of  the  court  be  a  fit  person  to  make 
a  home  for  the  children,  and  the  home  must  reach  a  minimum 
standard  of  efficiency.  The  amount  of  the  pension,  which 
in  no  case  exceeds  $50.00  a  month,  is  based  on  the  estimate 
of  a  dietitian  who  considers  the  age  and  health  of  each  mem- 
ber of  the  family.  A  trained  visitor  from  the  department 
guides  the  mother  in  her  care  of  the  children  and  the  eco- 
nomical expenditure  of  the  allowance. 

In  1913  six  hundred  and  eighty  mothers  received  pen- 
sions in  support  of  2,281  children,  amounting  to  $132,002.69. 
The  appropriation  for  1914  for  this  purpose  was  $100,000. 

Juvenile  Detention  Home 

An  important  institution  supported  jointly  by  Cook 
County  and  the  City  of  Chicago  is  the  Juvenile  Detention 
Home,  where  children  are  kept  temporarily  awaiting  action 
by  the  court.  In  1913  the  number  cared  for  was  3,403,  of 
whom  2,008  were  delinquent  boys,  694  delinquent  girls,  393 
dependent  beys  and  308  dependent  girls.  For  the  delin- 
quent children  the  Home  serves  in  place  of  the  old-time 
police  station  or  jail  where,  prior  to  1889,  children  charged 
with  committing  any  offense  against  the  law  were  confined 
with  hardened  crmiinals.  For  the  dependent  children  com- 
ing from  homes  of  misery  and  degradation,  it  serves  as  a 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY  53 

refuge  until  permanent  provision  can  be  made  for  their 
care. 

The  work  of  the  Home  is  very  difficult  and  very  im- 
portant. The  children  when  brought  in  are  usually  ne- 
glected and  dirty,  and  must  be  thoroughly  cleansed.  They 
are  examined  at  once  and  given  medical  and  dental  care  as 
required.  Although  they  are  there  for  periods  varying  from 
part  of  a  day  to  several  weeks,  and  their  ages  vary  from 
less  than  a  year  to  seventeen  years,  they  must  be  kept  oc- 
cupied and  so  far  as  possible,  instructed.  Therefore,  a 
separate  school  is  maintained  by  the  Board  of  Education, 
supplied  with  a  kindergartner  and  four  teachers. 

During  1914  the  children  were  cared  for  physically  by 
a  physician,  five  trained  nurses  and  a  dentist.  A  psycho- 
pathic laboratory  is  maintained  under  the  direction  of  a 
skilled  psychologist,  where  tests  are  made  of  sub-normal 
children  and  the  results  transmitted  to  the  Judge  of  the 
Juvenile  Court.  A  superintendent,  24  attending  nurses,  two 
matrons  and  other  necessary  employes  are  also  on  duty. 

The  County  approj^riated  in  1914  a  total  of  $42,615  for 
salaries. 


54 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 


INSTITUTIONS    TO    WHICH    THE    JUVENILE    COURT    COMMITS 
DELINQUENT  CHILDREN 

No.  committed 
in  1913 

St.  Charles  School  for  Boys St.  Charles,  Illinois 183 

John  Worthy  School  for  Boys Twenty-sixth     street     and     California 

'  avenue,  Chicago 261 

State  Training  School  for  Girls Geneva,  Illinois 46 

Eefuge  for  Girls 5024  Indiana  avenue,  Chicago 54 

House  of  the  Good  Shepherd Grace  and  Clark  streets,  Chicago.  .  .  .112 


INSTITUTIONS    TO    WHICH    THE    JUVENILE    COURT    COMMITS 
DEPENDENT    CHILDREN 

Industrial  Schools  for  Girls 


Park  Eidge  School  for  Girls Park   Eidge,   111 Protestant  ....   50 

[llinois     Technical    School    for 

Colored  Girls   4900  Prairie   Ave.,  Chicago.  .  .  Catholic 54 

Catharine  Kasper  Indust'l  Sch.  .  .2001  Devon  Ave.,  Chicago.  .  .  .  Catholic   80 

i_/isle  Industrial  School Lisle,  111 Catholic  28 

Chicago  Industrial  School Des  Plaines,   111 Catholic  113 

Amanda  Smith  Industrial  Sch... North  Harvey,  111 Protestant  ....    16 

St.  Hedwig's  Industrial  School.  .Niles  Center,  111 Catholic 81 

Bohemian  Industrial   School 4061  No.  40th  Ave.,  Chicago.  .  .Free  Thinker.  .      3 


Manual  Training  Schools  for  Boys 

St.  Mary's  Training  School Feehanville,    111 Catholic   182 

Polish  Manual  Training  School.  .Niles  Center,  111 Catholic   106 

Kettler  Manual  Training  School.  2001  Devon  Ave.,  Chicago.  ..  .Catholic  117 

Glenwood  Manual  Training  Sch.  .  Glenwood,    111 Protestant  ..  .  .104 

Lisle  Manual  Training  School.  .  .Lisle,  111 Catholic   46 

Bohemian  Manual  Training  Sch. .5061  No.  40th  Ave.,  Chicago..  .Free  Thinker..     4 

Louise  Manual  Training  School.. 6130  Ada   St.,   Chicago Protestant  ....    18 

Cook   County   Kinderheim Hirsch  and  Eockwell  Sts Protestant  ....   38 


Certified  Institutions  Caring  for  Dependent   Children 

Central    Baptist    Orphanage Maywood,    111 Protestant 

Chicago  Foundlings'  Home 15  S.  Wood  St.,  Chicago Protestant 

Chicago  Ind.  Home  for  Children.  .1132  Washington  Blvd.,  Chic. . Protestant 

Chicago  Orphan  Asylum 5120  S.  Park  Ave.,  Chicago. .  .Protestant 

Evangelical  Luther  Kinderfreund  Society  of  Illinois Protestant 

Frances  Juvenile  Home 3929  Indiana  Ave.,  Chicago.  .  .Non-Sectarian 

[11.  Children's  Home  &  Aid  Soc.  .209  S.  State  St.,  Chicago Non-Sectarian 

Jewish  Home  Finding  Society  of 

Chicago    720  W.  12th  St.;  Chicago Jewish 

Norwegian  Luth.  Child.  Home.  .  .Edison  Park,  111 Protestant  ..  . 

St.  Vincent's  Infant  Asylum.  ..  .721  La  Salle  Ave.,  Chicago. .  .Catholic  


2 
4 

59 

7 

61 


Not  in  State  Agent's  List  as  Certified 

St.  Mary 's  Home  for  Children   Episcopalian. . . 

Chicago  Home  for  Boys   Non-Sectarian. 

Jewish  Home  for  the  Friendless Jewish 

Chicago  Home  for  the  Friendless Non-Sectarian . 

St.  Joseph  's  Catholic  Home  for  Children Catholic   


14 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY  55 


Schools  of  Cook  County 

Cook  County  outside  of  the  city  of  Chicago  contains 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five  school  districts,  one  hundred 
and  one  of  which  are  typical  one-room,  one-teacher  rural 
schools;  twenty-eight  have  two  teachers  each:  nine  have 
three,  and  five  districts  have  four  teachers  in  their  employ. 
The  remaining  thirty-two  districts  employ  a  number  var,y- 
ing  from  five  up  to  one  hundred  and  seventeen  each.  The 
''Oak  Park"  district  employs  the  greatest  number  of 
teachers.  Besides  these,  there  are  fourteen  township  high 
schools  and  two  other  high  school  districts,  making  a  total 
of  one  hundred  and  ninety-one  different  school  districts, 
each  governed  by  a  separate  board,  one-third  of  whose  mem- 
bership is  elected  annually  by  the  direct  vote  of  the  qualified 
electors.  Districts  having  a  population  of  less  than  one- 
thousand  inhabitants  are  governed  by  boards  of  directors 
consisting  of  three  members,  while  those  having  a  popula- 
tion of  more  than  one  thousand  elect  boards  of  education 
consisting  of  a  president  and  six  members.  Provision  is 
made  by  statute  for  the  enlarging  of  these  boards  as  the 
population  increases.  The  revenue  of  each  district  is  de- 
rived from  a  direct  tax  levied  upon  the  assessed  valuation 
of  the  property  in  the  district  and  a  small  amount  received 
as  each  district's  proportionate  share  of  the  state  school 
fund. 

The  school  funds  of  the  various  districts  in  each  con- 
gressional to^vnship  are  in  the  possession  and  care  of  the 
township  school  treasurer,  who  is  elected  biennially  by  the 
school  trustees.  The  title  of  all  school  property  is  held  in 
the  name  of  the  trustees. 

The  qualified  male  A^oters  of  Cook  County  elect  quadren- 
nially a  county  superintendent  of  schools  who  enters  upon 
the  discharge  of  his  duties  on  the  first  Monday  of  December 
after  his  election.  Before  taking  office  he  must  execute  a 
bond  to  be  approved  by  the  County  Board  or  the  Judge  of 
the  County  Court. 

During  the  past  four  years  the  folloAving  progressive 
ideas  in  rural  education  have  been  inaugurated: 

Teachers'  minimum  salary  schedule. 


56  A  STUDY  OP  COOK  COUNTY 

Preparatoiy  training  for  teachers  required  before  the 
issuing  of  certificates. 

Uniform  course  of  study  and  text-books. 

Annual  country  life  festivals  and  school  ''County 
Fairs." 

Achievement  clubs  for  boys  and  girls. 

Country  Life  Leaders  (Community  Secretaries)  and 
All  the  Year  'Round  Field  Schools  in  charge  of  wander- 
lehrers. 

Cook  County  is  the  first  community  in  America  to  em- 
ploy community  secretaries  and  wanderlehrers.  The  eyes 
of  the  educational  world  are  focused  on  the  outcome. 


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58  A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 


The  Civil  Service  Commission 

The  Civil  Service  Commission  is  the  expert  emplo}^- 
ment  agency  of  the  County.  The  Commissioners,  three  in 
numher,  are  appointed  by  the  President  of  the  County 
Board  to  serve  on  the  Conunission  for  three  years/  the  Law 
providing  that  not  more  than  two  members  shall  at  the  time 
of  appointment  be  members  of  the  same  political  party. 
The  President  may,  in  his  discretion,  remove  any  Commis- 
sioner for  incompetence,  neglect  of  duty,  or  malfeasance  in 
office,  stating  his  reasons  in  writing  to  the  Board  of  County 
Commissioners. 

The  1914  Apropriation  Bill  provided  for  1,142  posi- 
tions under  Civil  Service  jurisdiction,  which  were  classified 
by  the  Commission  into  169  different  grades  of  service. 
These  positions  came  within  the  general  scope  of  the  eleven 
classes  indicated  in  the  chart  on  page  57,  covering  positions 
as  various  as  Druggist,  Business  Manager,  Roentgenologist 
and  Public  Welfare  Worker.  The  1,142  persons  in  the 
classified  Civil  Service  are  employed  largely  in  the  charity 
branch,  the  so-called  fee  offices  being  exempt  under  the 
present  Civil  Service  Law,  which  was  enacted  in  1895.  The 
enactment  of  a  comprehensive  Civil  Service  act,  covering 
in  a  unified  service  all  County  employes,  would  make  for 
economy,  efficienc}^  and  stability  of  service. 

The  Nineteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Commission 
shows  that  during  1913  one  hundred  and  eighty  (180)  ex- 
aminations were  held  for  5,909  applicants,  and  that  137 
citizen  experts  in  various  lines  gave  their  services  to  assist 
the  Commission  in  selecting  from  this  large  number  of  ap- 
plicants those  persons  best  qualified  to  serve  the  County. 
The  Commission  has  inaugurated  a  practical  test  for  many 
examinations,  and  uses  this  test,  or  an  oral  interview,  to 
supplement  the  written  papers  on  duties  and  jDast  experi- 
ence in  trying  out  the  merit  of  the  applicants. 

1.     Illinois  Revised  Statutes.     Chap.  34,  par.  10,  p.  633. 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 


59 


60  A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 


Budget  Making 

The  Budget  of  Cook  County  is  made  under  the  provi- 
sions of  the  Cook  County  Act,  requiring  the  Board  of  Com- 
missioners to  appropriate  within  the  first  quarter  of  each 
fiscal  year  the  money  necessary  for  all  expenses  of  the 
County  for  the  ensuing  year.  This  includes  funds  for  the 
publication  of  the  assessment  of  real  or  personal  property, 
provision  for  principal  and  interest  of  County  indebtedness, 
the  ordinary  current  salaries  of  County  officials  and  em- 
ployes, the  maintenance  of  County  property  and  institu- 
tions, including  courts,  juries,  dieting  occupants  of  the  jails, 
prisons,  hospitals  and  industrial  schools,  and  the  cost  of  elec- 
tions required  by  law.  There  is  further  provision  in  the  Act 
that  after  the  adoption  of  such  appropriation  bill  within  the 
three  months  the  Board  of  Commissioners  ''shall  have  no 
power  to  add  in  any  way  to  the  County  Expenditures,  ex- 
cepting in  case  of  some  unforeseen  casualtv,  such  as  fire  or 
flood."      . 

The  necessity  for  an  improved  method  of  budget  mak- 
ing was  recognized  in  1910  by  the  President  of  the  Board  of 
County  Commissioners,  who  asked  for  recommendations 
from  ithe  Bureau  of  Public  Efficiency.  The  method  sug- 
gested by  them  was  adopted  and  has  greatly  facilitated  the 
handling  of  the  County's  business. 

The  1914  Appropriation  Bill  was  made  with  little  refer- 
ence to  the  standards  for  salaries  established  for  the  various 
grades  by  the  Civil  Service  Commission  or  the  heads  of  de- 
partments, which  resulted  in  disorganization  and  injustice  to 
various  classes  of  employes.  For  example,  the  housemaids 
and  seamstresses  at  the  County  Hospital  had  a  very  real 
grievance  when  the  janitresses'  pay  was  raised  to  $55.00  per 
month  and  the  housemaids  left  at  $45.00  and  the  seam- 
stresses at  $50.00. 

The  appropriating  body  should  be  in  full  co-operation 
with  the  heads  of  departments  and  the  Civil  Service  Com- 
mission in  establishing  standards  of  pay,  increase  to  be  given 
according  to  length  and  efficiency  of  service.  Until  this  is 
done,  it  will  be  difficult  to  get  competent  people  to  leave  the 
opportunities  of  the  business  world  for  the  uncertainties  of 
the  County  service. 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY  61 


A  County  Program 

1.  Complete  the  new  County  Hospital  and  build 
branch  hospitals  in  South  Chicago,  the  stockj^ards  district 
and  the  northwest  side. 

2.  Provide  a  convalescent's  home  where  patients  leav- 
ing the  County  Hospital  could  be  cared  for  until  they  are 
able  to  work. 

3.  Utilize  the  human  Avaste  at  the  county  institutions 
by  finding  employment  for  cripples  and  persons  otherwise 
physically  deficient  and  making  them  self-supporting  and 
self-respecting.  A  dairy  farm,  chicken  ranch  or  vegetable 
garden  at  Oak  Forest  would  tend  to  place  the  "down-and- 
out"  on  his  feet. 

4.  Establish  an  outing  camp  and  make  outings  for  the 
tenement  poor  a  permanent  branch  of  the  County's  service. 

5.  Abolish  the  inhuman  and  criminal  conditions  at  the 
jail  by  erecting  a  new  building  with  decent  provisions  for 
prisoners  awaiting  trial  and  suitable  grounds  for  exercise 
and  the  conservation  of  health. 

6.  Build  a  new  Juvenile  Home,  with  accommodations 
for  the  Juvenile  Court,  in  a  location  removed  from  the  pres- 
ent densely  populated  center  Avith  its  evil  influences  and  un- 
Avholesome  surroundings. 

7.  Place  the  County's  finances  on  a  permanent  basis 
of  economy  and  efficiency  by  keeping  expenses  Avithin  in- 
come ;  extending  modern  business  methods  to  every  county 
department  and  requiring  the  departments  to  limit  their 
expenditures  to  their  appropriations. 

8.  Extend  the  Avork  of  the  Poor  Relief  department  to 
reach  the  causes  of  distress  and  remove  them  as  far  as  pos- 
sible by  obtaining  emplo3^ment  for  able-bodied  dependents ; 
assisting  the  City  Authorities  in  improving  housing  condi- 
tions of  the  helpless  poor,  and  enlisting  the  assistance  of  the 
Public  Welfare  Department  and  other  agencies  in  placing 
the  unfortunate  on  their  feet. 


62  A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY 

9.  Purchase  and  develop  a  correction  farm  for  the 
County's  prisoners,  where  they  may  be  trained  in  useful 
trades  and  occupations,  employed  on  the  farm  or  in  work- 
shops under  healthful  conditions  and  made  physically  fit 
for  emplo^anent. 

10.  Make  every  public  road  in  Cook  County  a  sub- 
stantially improved  and  permanent  highway. 


A  STUDY  OF  COOK  COUNTY  63 


Bibliography 


Actual  Government  in  Illinois,  Mary  L.  Cliilcls,  Centurv 

Co.,  1914. 
Handbook  for  the  Women  Voters  of  Illinois,  Alice  Green- 
acre,  edited  by  S.  P.  Breckinridge,  1913. 
Report  of  the  Joint  Legislative  Committee  of  the  47th  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  Vol.  2,  1913. 
Cook  Covmty  Comptroller's  Report  for  fiscal  year  ended  No- 
vember 30,  1913,  and  Annual  Appropriation  Bill, 
1914. 
Nineteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Cook  County  Civil  Service 

Commission. 
Charity  Service  Reports,  Cook  Count}^,  1913. 
Reports  of  the  Chicago  Bureau  of  Public  Efficiency: 

Plea  for  Publicity  in  the  Office  of  the  County  Treas- 
urer, October  9,  1911. 
Office  of  the  County  Treasurer,  November,  1913. 
The  Judges  and  the  County  Fee  Offices,  December,  1911. 
The  Office  of  Sheriff  of  Cook  Count}^,  November,  1912 ; 

December,  1911. 
The  Office  of  Coroner  of  Cook  County,  December,  1911. 
The  Office  of  Clerk  of  the  County  Court,  November, 

1912. 
The  Office  of  Recorder  of  Cook  Countv,  September, 

1911. 
The  Budget  of  Cook  County,  January,  1911. 
Illinois  Revised  Statutes  of  1909: 

Provisions  Applicable  to  the  Board  of  Commissioners 

of  Cook  County.     Chapter  34,  page  630. 
Paupers.    Chapter  23,  page  300. 

The  Courts.  Chapter  37,  page  659 ;  Chap.  107,  p.  1658. 
Juvenile  Laws.  Chapter  23,  page  300. 
Training  School  for  Boys.  Chapter  122,  page  2048. 
Industrial  School  for  Girls.  Chapter  122,  page  2045. 
Countv  Superintendent  of  Schools.  Chap.  122,  p.  1991. 
Constitution  of  1870 :  Article  VI,  Courts ;  Article  VIII, 
Education;  Article  X,  Counties. 


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